The Best LED Light bulbs For Everything In Your Home
As much as we would love to hoard traditional incandescent light bulbs, we know that the incandescent era has come to an end. LED’s really are the way to go, and for good reason… you don’t need to feel bad when you accidentally leave them on all night! Really though, while there is still a lot of room for improvement - we are looking at you Christmas lights - they have come a long way in recent years.
TLDR
LED Bulb 60w Equivalent: GE Relax 60 W Equivalent Dimmable Soft White
LED Bulb 40w Equivalent: GE Relax 40 W Equivalent Dimmable Warm White
LED Smart Bulb: Philips Hue A19 Smart Bulb
Picture Light Bulb: LiteHistory Dimmable 5” T10 LED Bulbs
Smart Dimmer Switch: Legrand Radiant Smart Switch
Dumb Dimmer Switch: Legrand Radiant Rocker Switch
We recently did a Reel about LED lights and while it was fun, it was also a bit misleading. The truth is, there is no such thing as the BEST LED light bulbs, because it really depends on application. In this blog post we are going to cover which types of light bulbs we use, where. What you will not find in this guide: bulbs that turn different colors, sorry.
// FAQ: When discussing dimmable lights, the quality of the bulb matters, but the quality of the dimmer switches are just as important. We will add a couple of our favorites at the end.
// Super Fun: This chart is something that I would commit to memory, its that fun.
Dorks looking directly at light bulbs - not advised.
Watt Are You Talking About?!
Lighting Definitions
// Wattage: LED light bulbs use significantly less energy than traditional incandescent bulbs. While traditional bulbs may use 60 watts, an LED bulb can provide the same light output using just 9 watts. When choosing an LED bulb, it's important to look at the wattage of the bulb to ensure it will provide the amount of light you need.
// Lumens: This is probably the best way to measure “brightness”. While wattage is a good start - it may differ based on the bulbs efficiency and therefore is not the best measurement. High Lumens of light = High brightness levels
// Color Temperature: LED light bulbs come in a range of color temperatures, from warmer tones to cool white. The color temperature of a bulb is measured in Kelvins (K) and can affect the overall look and feel of a room. Warmer colors (2700K - 3000K) are best for cozy and intimate spaces like a living room, while lower color temperatures, or cool white light (5000K - 6500K) is better for the operating room. Color temperature is one of the easiest ways to establish the vibe of a space.
// Color Rendering Index (CRI)(Advanced): This index measures the ability of a light source to reveal colors of objects in contrast to a natural light source, such as the sun filtering in through your windows. Put another way, it’s the measurement of light in relation to how it affects the appearance of color. This range can also depend on the “temperature” of the light. The scale is 0-100 where Excellent is 90-100, Good is 60-85, and Poor is 0-55.
// Renovation Husband’s Confidence Level (RHC): We made this up for this blog post. LEDs is an ever changing environment and our confidence in the “best bulb” changes by category.
// Dimmability: Not all LED lights are dimmable bulbs. So, it's important to check before making a purchase if you plan on using them with a dimmer switch. If you do decide to go for this feature, check that they are compatible with your existing dimmer switch.
// Shape and Size: LED light bulbs come in a variety of shapes and sizes, including traditional A-shape, candle shape, and even globe shape. It's important to choose the right bulb shape and size to ensure a good fit in your fixtures. You can find all of the shapes here.
// Quality and Brand: As with any product, it's important to choose a high-quality LED light bulb from a reputable brand. Low-quality bulbs may not have a long lifetime, or provide the same level of light, so it's worth investing in a good quality bulb.
Keeping THings Dumb
This may feel like a funny place to start but as we have done more and more projects we have started to lean into the dumber side of bulbs and switches. When people visit Boston it is almost impossible to know all the Alexa commands to keep things synced up. Somewhat recently we had to reset all of our smart stuff and it took hours.
So the first thing on the list are our go-to bulbs and switches.
Best Overall Dumb Stuff
GE Relax 60W Equivalent & GE Relax 40W Equivalent
RHC: HIGH
Legrand Radiant Rocker Switch
RHC: HIGH
Picture LightS
Picture lights are the prettiest, yet most expensive, so they deserve the correct bulb(s). All kinds of light fixtures from our home fall into this category, including our built-in fixtures (pictured below), single picture lights, piano lights… really anything with a long skinny bulb (T10).
David affectionately calls these “fish tank bulbs”… IYKYK.
We recently converted these to LED because this type of incandescent bulb fails frequently… and these fixtures have 4 each. We tried a couple of options but are confident we found the best - and we haven’t had to swap them once!
PICTURE LIGHT BEST BULB
LiteHistory Dimmable 5” T10 LED Bulbs
4 Watts / 40 Watt Equivalent
Warm White 2200K at 250 Lumens / CRI 90
RHC: VERY HIGH
Lamps
This category can be challenging because “lamps” can be quite a broad category. For us, lamps add auxiliary lighting but are never considered a primary light source on their own - as opposed to ceiling lights or a chandelier. Our general purpose for floor or table lamps is to establish mood lighting.
Best Lamp Bulb
Philips Hue A19 Smart Bulb
75 Watt Equivalent
Warm White 2700K at 1100 Lumen
RHC: HIGH
Outdoor Lighting
We can’t forget about the great outdoors. There are a few lighting options in this category, many of which we find to be FAR too expensive. We installed our low-voltage system years ago, and have expanded it multiple times, with no issues at all. The system plugs into an outlet and you just bury the wire anywhere you want - it is super simple.
Best Landscape Lighting
Hampton Bay Low-Voltage 120-Watt Landscape Transformer
Low-Voltage 20W Flood Lights (we tried 60W and they were too bright)
Low-Voltage Black Integrated LED Deck Light - Long (used on our backyard retaining walls)
Low-Voltage Black Integrated LED Deck Light - Short (used on our backyard retaining wall steps)
Low-Voltage Black Integrated LED Deck Light - Medium (used on the deck steps)
RHC: VERY HIGH
Low Voltage LED Light
(Used in the light string draped on fence and down light fixtures)
4 Watts / 40 Watt Equivalent
Warm White 3000k at 400 Lumens / CRI N/A
RHC: VERY HIGH
Christmas Lights
Bonus category! Now while we have not found a good alternative to incandescent string lights, we have found the best alternative to our window lights and the benefits are amazing! They have a beautiful amber warm lighting, they don’t flicker, they stay cool against window treatments, and we have never had one break when dropped!
// FAQ: We use corded window lights because we don’t want to change batteries and we don’t find the battery operated ones to be bright enough.
Best Christmas LED Bulbs
DORESshop C7 Mini Candelabra LED Bulb
2 Watts / 20 Watt Equivalent
Warm White 2700k at 150 Lumens / CRI N/A
RHC: VERY HIGH
New Ideal Window Candle Lights
Corded with built in timer - 8 hours on / 16 hours off
RHC: High
Dimmer Switches
As mentioned previously, dimmable LEDs are only as good as their switch. Using a quality switch will make all of the difference. Remember that you should only use dimmable switch with a standard light bulb - not smart bulbs. Keep your smart bulbs on dumb switches!
We have tried a few of these in our day, and while there are cheaper ones coming out everyday, we can only really stand behind a couple. The Legrand dimmer switch is our favorite - everything from the wifi capabilities, to its range of color options, low profile appearance, and dimming quality make it our top pick in this category.
Final Thoughts
Lighting is one of the most critical design features in just about any space. But, at the end of the day, lighting is a personal preference and, like most things, you should do what makes you happy in your own home. We would argue that it’s impossible to be happy living under fluorescent bulbs, but nonetheless it is technically possible.
So go ahead and light up your world.
