Incandescent Light Bulbs

Few recommendations for traditional bulbs

Because medium-base incandescent light bulbs are being phased out, we found few reviews comparing them. The sole recommended incandescent, Sylvania's eLogic (*Est. $3 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 are still better at slowly adjusting light. 

Because the majority of 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. In fact, some manufacturers are discontinuing production of incandescent light bulbs prior to the phaseout; Toshiba discontinued its production in March of 2010.