The Problem

I have to admit, I’m not happy with the fact that the government has essentially outlawed our incandescent bulbs – for several reasons.  But the fact is, they have, so we’re stuck having to find “energy efficient” alternatives.  Thus far, this has been a huge problem, because the primary alternative is Compact Fluorescent bulbs (CFL’s).

I hate these!  The light quality is bad.  Fluorescents even give some people migraines!  There is UV exposure to worry about (and it’s not a full-spectrum balance like natural, outdoor UV exposure).  And these things contain mercury!  That means they’re dangerous if they break, and they’re bad for the environment when they’re disposed of.  Some eco-friendly alternative!

The Solution – LED’s

But Best Buy is now offering an alternative, in the form of Insignia LED bulbs.  You might be familiar with LED bulbs, as they’ve been around in the form of Christmas string lights and such for a while now.  But not “regular” light bulbs you’d put in your lamps and overhead fixtures.

Now, these are truly energy-efficient bulbs.  They use 75% less energy than incandescents.  At 3 hours a day of usage, a bulb is expected to last 22 years!  That makes their purchase price of $13.99-$16.99 (depending on wattage) a much better deal than it seems at first blush.

They don’t contain mercury, so there’s no risk of health damage if the bulbs break (‘though they seem to be plastic, so I doubt they break easily), and they’re safe to dispose of.  In fact, they’re almost entirely recyclable.

Insignia bulbs are available at Best Buy, in-store or online, beginning today, October 28th.  If you pick up your bulbs in the local brick-and-mortar store, you can use this coupon for 50% off of one bulb when you buy two at regular price.

My Experience

Obviously, I can’t yet speak to the accuracy of the longevity claims.   (‘Though these will definitely not last 22 years at our house, as most of our lights run for far more than 3 hours/day.)  But I can tell you my experience with the bulbs themselves.

I was a bit surprised at how heavy each bulb is – they’re not as lightweight as incandescents.  But they seem to be plastic, so I don’t have to worry about the kids breaking them.  (Not that my kids go around playing with light bulbs or something, but you know…an older child hands you one while you’re changing them, a little one goes digging through the trash can, or someone’s throwing a ball in the house and hits a lamp  – stuff happens.)

They’re shaped just like incandescents, overall (‘though they have those sort of fin- or vent-looking pieces), and were just as easy to get in and out of the fixtures as the incandescents.  The bulbs that came out of my fixtures were 75-watt, and these are 60-watt equivalents, so they should be a little bit less bright.  (Forgive my ugly fixtures.  They’re so odd we haven’t figured out what to replace them with, and the covers are so frosted we can see when they’re in place.)

Here you can see the incandescent bulb with and without my camera’s flash, and then the Insignia with and without the flash, photographed from the same spot.

They look roughly equivalent, to me.

I’ll have to update you when we have to replace these (which are in the basement living room, where the lights run almost non-stop).

Have you used LED for anything?

Disclosure: I have received the product free to facilitate my review.  As always, all opinions expressed here are entirely my own.