A Bulb for Every Fixture

When I was writing this column, my wife Kathy asked me if I could get a CFL bulb for the table lamps in the family room. These lamps have 3 way switches that allow the bulb to glow with different levels of intensity. The answer is: "Yes!"

Remember the yellow bug bulbs you would put on porch lights to reduce the amount of moths and other night bugs? You can get yellow CFLs.

Do you have lots of recessed light fixtures? I do. I think I have over 50 of them in my house. They burn lots of energy. You can buy special reflector CFLs that capture all of the light and reflect it down out of the recessed fixture. They work very well.

Bulb Temperature

An interesting side benefit of CFLs is the reduced operating temperature. Many a house fire has been started where a high wattage incandescent bulb was placed in a ceiling fixture. The high temperatures can actually melt the insulation on some older wire. Once this happens it is only a matter of time before electrical arcing starts a fire. CFLs burn at significantly lower temperatures. The fire hazard is low or non-existent. If you have an older closet with a bare bulb fixture, change it out immediately with a CFL. Exposed incandescent bulbs have also started fires where clothes or boxes have fallen against them.

Easy Access

You may find some CFLs at home centers, hardware stores or even grocery stores. But if you want the best selection visit an electrical supply house or better yet a specialty store that sells light fixtures. Stores like this need to supply bulbs with the fixtures and trust me, they have so many different bulbs you will not believe your eyes. I am talking hundreds and hundreds of different bulbs. Just one of the CFL manufacturers has a minimum of 100 different size/type CFLs! I guarantee you will find what you need.