Turns out, changing a light bulb is harder than it seems.

[haikuman]

http://finance.yahoo.com/family-home/art...switch-wsj




"To help translate, manufacturer GE this fall will introduce a dramatic packaging overhaul, organizing its light bulbs by lumen level using five different colors--yellow, green, blue, orange and purple. A watt-conversion will be on the package. Other brands, such as Osram Sylvania, will color-code packaging based on the light's actual color (warm and cool). By next year, the Federal Trade Commission will require manufacturers to post "Light Facts" labels on most bulb packaging with info about brightness, light appearance and annual energy cost, among other things."

[M>B>]

[cbelt3]

.. but the lightbulb has to WANT to change !

... 4.. 1 to hold the lightbulb, 3 to turn the ladder.

... 2. But it has to be a BIG lightbulb.

[Speedy]

Now if the Feds would require bulb manufacturers to give honest info on how long the bulbs actually last.

[Lew Zealand]

Speedy wrote:
Now if the Feds would require bulb manufacturers to give honest info on how long the bulbs actually last.

At least they could give typical lifespans in various settings:

Base down in a table lamp
Base sideways in an open fixture
Base sideways in a closed fixture
Bathroom or other high humidity setting
Base up (upside down) in an open fixture
Base up (upside down) in an open fixture outside with 0°C min temp
Base up (upside down) in an open fixture outside with -30°C min temp
And so on…

Oh wait, they're only recommended for the very first installation. So why are some states trying to phase out regular incandescents? I have CFLs in most of the above non-recommneded settings and they last less long and in fact I've gone back to a couple of incandescents in low wattage uses.

A 38W shaded incandescent outside the front door is more than enough light - all those people putting multiple unshaded 100W bulbs at the front/side/rear door are just inducing glare, wasting money and contributing to detrimental light pollution. I might try a 25W when this 38W burns out to see if thats enough as well.