Does anyone know where the cheapest place is to get lightbulbs? I just used my last one before I left home And I know they are pretty expensive most places. I don't know when they got so expensive but they did. I'm not fond of the newer curly looking ones but they supposedly long lasting. I have quite a few bulbs that need changing and since I found a neighbor who's very helpful I can finally get the ones changed I had trouble with....after I buy them. Is Costco the cheapest? Someone somewhere also said that PG&E has a program that helps but I'm not sure of that.
Incandescent bulb prices started going up awhile back with the phase out by most companies that manufacture bulbs. We ordered about 75 incandescent 100watt bulbs to use in our walk-in coolers and freezers before the price jumped. Fluorescent bulbs take a longer time to come on when in a cooler or freezer. Not safe for the food handlers. Every place I checked the incandescent bulbs are quite expensive. All the rooms at my hotel have fluorescent compact bulbs and the common areas have LED bulbs. It's the future, they tell me.
All I want is a soft white bulb. Don't like harsh light. I need about a dozen or so since most of my light fixtures have a fan and 3 separate lights. Right now most have 2 burned out which is fine by me but looks better if all lit. I'm not even sure what watt I need in these since there are 3. Even this gets complicated. I also need a small one for my fridge.
The one for your fridge is probably a 45watt appliance bulb. The soft white bulbs are considered incandescent bulbs; they come in clear, frosted, white, etc. You might try a store like 'Dollar Tree' or 'Dollar Store' for a good price. If not, the big box stores like Home Depot and Lowes have sales off and on. Good Luck.
Thanks, didn't know the dollar stores carried them. Will check when I get back home. I've been putting this off But now that I got someone that can change the difficult ones, might as well buy them all at once and do the whole house.
YOu might check Ikea too. They usually have good prices on things like that. Batteries and lightbulbs both are pretty cheap there I think. I haven't purchased them recently but I know you used to be able to get a 10 pack of double AA's for 1.99. They were decent batteries too. The lightbulbs are also reasonably placed there, and at Aldi's, except they are not always in stock at Aldi's. It is a place to check though.
I don't know the cheapest place to buy them, but my preference would be for LED bulbs. They're not cheap but I haven't had one burn out yet. Like you, I also dislike the curly bulbs. Plus, they used to last a long time but now don't last much longer than regular incandescent bulbs did. Some legislation was passed a few years ago that cleared the shelves of incandescent bulbs as we knew them for a while. Now they are coming back, but at exaggerated prices, and I don't know if they are the same thing at higher prices or if the technology has changed. I find the most choices at stores like Lowes or Home Depot.
Thanks Ken, I do have lowes and Home Depot. Sad when bulbs cost so much! They're pretty much a necessity. My daughter just had a bunch of bulbs replaced in her ceiling lights and they were on sale at Costco but even on sale they were quite expensive and even she was complaining. I don't think anyone likes spending money on light bulbs.
I don't go for the cheapest because they tend to burn out too quickly and I hate having to change bulbs all the time. Of course, even more upsetting is when the expensive ones burn out. I really don't think I've lost an LED bulb yet, and I have some that I've had since they came out with the brighter ones (LED bulbs used to be very dim). I think they're also pretty easy in the electricity usage.
LED bulbs use approx. 10% of the amount of juice needed for equivalent light output from incandescent, due to the fact that they generate almost no heat, so little energy loss. But, the ones I have seem to project most of the light from the top of the bulb, little from the sides, so their being directional makes the one I put in my automotive shop drop-light much less useful than incandescent, which has of course produced many burns on my hands and arms over the years. Drop the incan., and it's dead. LEDs more rugged. Have you noticed their use in cars and trucks? Frank
Cost of using electricity isn't that big a factor. My bills are low usually except for last month when AC was dying unbeknownst to me. That bill was a shocker!! I leave lights on all the time so I do want one that lasts long because changing some of them are too hard for me....involves tall ladder, etc.
Ikea is online, but I am not sure buying bulbs on there would be worth it, because you would undoubtedly have to pay shipping on the order, unless you could find other things you liked on there. Dollar General is alos a possibility for the bulbs.
Thanks, yes shipping is always an issue and I don't need anything else. I don't even want anything else, trying to downsize.
Bobby just got a new shop light, and it is made with LED bulbs (is that even the right terminology ?) and that puppy is really really BRIGHT ! ! We got it for a few dollars on the discount thing; but Bobby likes it so well that he said he is going to order another one at regular price. It works much better than the flourescent lights he has out there now, and in the winter when it is cold, they take a long time to light up anyway. We have several flashlights that have LED lights and they are nice and bright, too. I think at first , the LED was not as good as the ones they make now. At least that is how it seems to me. I just got a solar charging camp lantern/flashlight combo, and it is brighter than the lamp that I use beside my chair to read by.