Switch them all to LED! :)

I love my little led bulbs from Ikea. My chandelier and sconces, both on dimmers, use the bulbs that look like candles.

Tibbrix - can you show a pic? I'm looking for exactly that. Thanks

barbarany, pic of which? The candle-like bulbs or the LED from Ikea?

Barbarany, Led is the way to go. I abhor CFL's and refuse to use them in my home. My DH bought some and they will stay in storage til hell freezes over and then some. I just purchased wonderful leds for our recessed lighting in the kitchen from Costco. They were $20 for a pack of 2 bulbs but they gave a $17 rebate on the pack so the total for 2 led bulbs with PA state sales tax is $3.18. I bought 30 packs of 2 so I should have replacements for years to come. I also have LEDs in my chandeliers but they were a lot pricier.

After the 5-light fixture over my vanity was installed, I realized you can see the bulbs. Most incandescent and halogen bulbs have unsightly stamps on their tops. Some are removable and some will not budge. I happened to have a few globe/Hollywood/boob lights sitting around and they work great, plus no ugly stamps. I use 5 40-watts and the amount of light is perfect. They're also dimmable. I bought a stash at Home Depot that should last me long enough for LEDs to become more compact. CFLs are out of the question.

My KD who is very code-aware, told me I could only have LED or CFL. I said, whatever, it's my house, I'll get what suits me.

Sorry - just got back - I'm looking for some sort of LED bulb for dining room chandelier. I have the CREE bulbs throughout the rest of my house - but wasn't sure how the chandelier bulbs look

Barbara, as far as I know, they've not come up with any good looking LED bulbs for chandeliers yet. Do the bulbs in your chandelier show or do you have shades on them?

If they show, I'd just go and get the regular kind that look like candle flames, 25 watts each. Make sure you get the right size where it screws in.

I haven't seen chandelier bulbs that are acceptable looking in LED, yet. I haven't looked in a while, though.

So far, my favorite is the LED Home Depot Cree brand in soft white. They remind me a little of halogen light, bright but not blue. I find the Lowe's brand of soft white has more of a blue cast.

For a bulb that you don't see, the Phillips flat LED (soft white) is very nice!

Well, I went to Target this morning and bought the type of GE CFL bulb that has the swirly thing encased inside a regular-looking bulb...if that makes sense. Will try those in the non-dimming fixtures. I got a couple of LED bulbs that look almost like regular light bulbs for the wall sconces, which are on dimmers. I'll see how they look when installed.

When did you get that deal Holly-Kay? I have some LED but the price has held me back from getting more and I'd really like to.

I don't have a costco membership but for that kind of deal I'd find someone that does for sure!

thanks Tibbrix - that's what I'm using. Hopefully they will come up with something comparable. No big deal tho - those are the only lights in my home that are not LED

We have been going with led bulbs, because they are not heat producing and they use much less electricity and of course Last so much longer. I discovered that eBay is the best price by far. I replaced every bulb in our RV for about a fourth of the price I could get them from anywhere else. They are perfect. Now moving on to the house. I only order from sellers in the US. They are easier for shipping reasons. Yitamotor is the source I went with for the RV leds, excellent results. I have no connection just picked for the price and availability of the products.

Here is a link that might be useful: Led light bulbs

Beth, I have a membership and my daughter works there. I bought my first batch two weekends ago and she just brought another batch to me on Saturday. She told me the new ones that are coming in will be $5.99 for a two pack but that is still a great price!

The info on the package is Feit Electric 65 Watt Replacement (only uses 13 Watt) Full Range Dimming, Instant on Full Brightness, Mercury Free 25,000 hour life, brightness is 750 lumens and it's a BR30 Flood.

OK, I looked on their website and it doesn't mention a rebate. I have a friend with a membership .... I'll see if she's going any time this week, maybe I can meet her there and look.

I bought some from Ebay, the cheap Chinese ones. The first batch I got was great, I've had them a year and no problems. The second batch I got were chandelier bulbs and they arrived as the European ones instead of the American ones. I tried and tried to get them replaced but had no luck. I tried to buy a converter fitting, but none worked. I finally gave up and sold them on CL for a third of what I paid. Very disappointed.

Like I said though, the first batch was great, just read the description very carefully and make sure you're getting US size.

For fixtures where the bulb is visible and pointed downward (like the hanging pendant and the vanity lights above), I'd use either the Ikea bulbs or the new Feit bulbs sold at Costco.

The Ikea bulbs are available in 40, 60, and 75 watt replacements with the 75w also available in a round globe shape. All are dimmable (if you're getting the 40w version, only the recent ones in yellow packaging can be dimmed), they're fairly omnidirectional, they're shaped like regular incandescent light bulbs, they don't have any markings on the end, and they give off excellent quality light. And by LED standards, they're cheap - $4.49 for the 40 and 60w, about $10 for the 75w, and that's without subsidies. My only issue is that they're not quite as bright as the incandescent bulbs they claim to replace, but they're still adequately bright for most uses.

The Costco bulbs just became available about 6 weeks ago, and are sold in a 3-pack of true 60 watt replacement bulbs for $20, or less if you live where there's subsidies (I'm planning a road trip to PA if they're really that cheap there!). Be sure to get the new ones - they have packaging that states "shows colors true & natural, 92 CRI". The old ones they had looked funky and and gave off funky light; the new ones are shaped like normal bulbs and should give off good light. And unlike the Ikea bulbs, these can also be used in completely enclosed fixtures. I actually haven't used these yet, but I've used the Costco floodlamp bulbs made by the same company in all three sizes (BR20, BR30, BR40) and they are outstanding despite being inexpensive, indistinguishable from incandescent floodlamps except for using 1/5 of the power and lasting much longer.

I like the Cree TW bulbs and usually recommend these, but they won't look good in these fixtures - the end of the bulb is dark and has a logo and other markings on it, and the heat sink at the other end may be visible too. They're great for lamps where you don't see the bulb though.

All of these give off warm incandescent-like light. If you prefer a whiter light, you may want to try the GE Reveal LEDs.

Regular bulbs for me, or fluorescent. Will all these CFL's cause a mercury problem someday?

Lee676, I can assure you that I paid $3 plus tax for a two pack. My daughter works there so she bought more for me after my initial purchase (she also bought those). The rebate is at the cash register and it's automatic. No forms to fill out and mail. She told me Saturday that the price went up to $5.99 per pack on their new shipment. I think I will have her get another 10 packs. I do think the rebate is promotional so it may go away at some point. The package does say shows color true and natural.

OldFixer, if you break a CFL you have to follow Hazmat procedures. It kills me that the government wants to act so "green" and yet they pushed CFL's through that are extremely hazardous compared to incandescent bulbs. They must have been paid off big time. Sylvania (now Osram) has a plant here in our town. They are closing their doors. Sad to see them go.

Sorry - just got back - I'm looking for some sort of LED bulb for dining room chandelier. I have the CREE bulbs throughout the rest of my house - but wasn't sure how the chandelier bulbs look

These are the Costco chandelier bulbs, which cost about $11 for a 3-pack, price varies depending on location. The optics don't exactly look like a glowing filament, and the heat sink at the bottom is visible, but when installed in a lamp and lit it still looks quite good IMO. I have Ikea's chandelier bulbs in my foyer and you wouldn't know they're LEDs if you didn't look closely. The quality of the light they give off is indistinguishable from incandescents, and based on the specs I'd expect the Costco bulbs to also give off great light. The Costco bulbs can be dimmed, the Ikea bulbs cannot.

Cree doesn't make chandelier bulbs yet.

Do any of these LED bulbs put out the same soft warm glow as incandescent bulbs? I love my incandescents! However, I know they are not environmentally friendly. Plus they are so cheap. Oh well, guess they are to be extinct either way.

I ordered a bunch of the LED bulbs from Ikea. I also still have the GE CFLs that are attempting to mimic a regular type A bulb. So now I have a couple to try, if the electrician ever calls me back...

holly-kay, how do you like the bulbs you bought at Costco? I saw those the other day but didn't know if they would be any good.

I've been buying the Cree LEDs from Home Depot for my can lights, but yowza they are expensive. They seem to have a yellowish glow, or maybe it's because they are smaller than my other lightbulbs and are reflecting the edge of the wood next to them.

"OldFixer, if you break a CFL you have to follow Hazmat procedures. It kills me that the government wants to act so "green" and yet they pushed CFL's through that are extremely hazardous compared to incandescent bulbs."

Oy, will this misinformation never cease.

No they're not extremely hazardous.
Frankly, I'm not all that worried about mercury exposure from an amt that will fit on the head of a pin--or is the size of a period(.).
The coal-fired power plants used to light those incandescent bulbs is emitting more mercury into than air than any CFLs.
BTW, watch out eating that tuna as well.

http://www.snopes.com/medical/toxins/cfl.asp

Marti8A, I had a bulb that was burned out so I was able to try one right away. I think it works great. It indeed is instant on and fully dimmable. I thought it may have a yellowish glow because they are 2700 which is on the warm side of the spectrum but they aren't. The package does say shows colors true and natural. I was really impressed with the quality and considering the extremely low price it's a win/win!