Quality products will have the Lighting Facts listed on the packaging, UL or ETL Listing, Energy Star Rating and read the warranty policy, can you return it to the store or are you shipping it back? Bear in mind, that shipping a $3 light bulb back to the manufacturer for warranty issues can cost more than the product is worth!
Rated Life
The rated life in hours determines the durability of the bulbs, there are 8760 hours in a year, a bulb rated 15000 hours will last approximately 2 years if operating 24/7, average use of 3 hours per day (residential) will last approximately 13.5 years, 10 hours per day (commercial) will last approximately 4 years (assuming 365 days of operation for all examples)
LEDs are selected by Lumen output, not wattage.
For example a 60w Incandescent A19 bulb emits 800 Lumens, an LED 9-10w A19 emits 800 Lumens
Color Temperature (Kelvins) See the color temperature guide in the COLOR post
Incandescent Bulbs emit light at 27k to 30k
Fluorescent Warm White emits light at 27k to 30k
Fluorescent Cool White emits light at 40k
Fluorescent Daylight emits light at 60k
LED’s are available in 18k, 27k, 30-35k, 40-45k, 50-55k and 60-65k
CRI (color rendering index) determines how close to true color the bulb projects; typically 80 – 85 CRI is fine for most applications, artwork, retail merchandising, and other color-intensive needs may look for 90 – 95 CRI.
Determine the application for the desired bulb
Enclosed or Open Fixtures
Dimmable or Non-Dimming (Requires an LED Rated Dimmer)
Dry, Damp or Wet Location
Fluorescent replacements are available in 2 types
Plug and Play – uses existing ballast; for tube types, an Electronic Instant Start ballast must be used For PL-type plug-in fluorescents existing ballasts may be used
Bypass – requires disconnecting the ballast and connecting directly to the power
Advanced Bypass does not require additional rewiring
First Generation Tubes required rewiring of the sockets to shunt on the side and are considered obsolete and are only used in fixtures that have been previously rewired.
