Incandescent Light Bulbs

Few recommendations for traditional bulbs

Because medium-base incandescent light bulbs are being phased out, we found few reviews comparing them. Two reviews included incandescent bulbs in their recommended products. The 60-watt GE Reveal (*Est. $2.50 for four) is a full-spectrum light bulb (it's worth noting that many reviewers don't care for the light quality of full-spectrum bulbs). The other recommended incandescent, Sylvania's eLogic (*Est. $4 for four), was included in The New York Times review because it is supposed to last 50 percent longer and use 5 percent less energy than standard incandescent bulbs, in addition to being smaller. The panel found the eLogic to be "nice, even, warm light."

Other incandescent bulbs are available, although we found few reviews mentioning them. One advantage of incandescent bulbs is that they can be used with dimmers. While there are now a few dimmable compact fluorescent light bulbs on the market, such as the GE Energy Smart Dimmable (*Est. $11), incandescent bulbs still are better at slowly adjusting light.

Because all incandescent bulbs are being phased out, it's unlikely that manufacturers will make efforts to improve upon current incandescent bulbs or manufacture more energy-efficient models of standard incandescent bulbs. While variations in color quality are a concern with CFLs, a review in the green living blog FivePercent.us recommends choosing CFL bulbs that are labeled "warm" or around the 2,700K color temperature to achieve the most natural-looking light. This review says that the light produced by CFLs labeled as "daylight" or "natural light" comes off as being too harsh.