At 120 volts, 130 volt lamp will have less light output but will last longer. You'll be dimming the lamps anyway, so lower light output doesn't matter so much.

I wont always be dimming it! I must have misunderstood Mr. Lowes Employee.

So how about those noname wally world bulbs? GE?

Any bulb labeled 130V made by a reputable company will have about 10% less light output than a 120V bulb, but will last a lot longer. I know they don't make things the way they used to, but all the bulbs I have in my house are 130V incandescents, they were installed in 2003 and I haven't burned a single one yet, except for the outdoor ones that are on all night. And even then I think one or two are still the original ones.

For the money spent on electricity, the 130 volt lamps are a very poor bargain. Less light output for each dollar of electricity than from 120 volt lamps. More heat than from a comparable wattage 120 volt lamp. Heat good in Winter, bad in Summer in my area. The only advantage is the longer life, which might be important in fixtures that are difficult to access for lamp changing.

I'm sure Mr. Brick will be here shortly,
to set us all straight.

Correction of what I posted earlier. The 130 volt lamp will convert more of your dollar's worth of electricity into heat than will the 120 volt lamp- and less of it into light.

I can't say that I've found a significance difference in the longevity of the various light bulb brands. I stay with the name brand lamps - GE, Philips, or Sylvania. I also use 130v lamps in situations where longevity is more important that light output. I used an ultra long life 130v lamp in the ceiling fixture of my Mom's garage. I think at 120v it was rated for 8,000 hours. Higher initial cost and higher operating costs easily offsets the risks of her climbing a ladder to change it.

I did buy a 150 watt equivalent no name CFL from Home Depot once that I intended to use in a table lamp for reading. The thing buzzed so loudly that I couldn't read. That was the last time I bought a no name CFL.

Typical specs for 130 volt light bulbs (such as GE) will state 88% of rated power consumption and 75% of it's rated light output when used at 120 volts.

So, yes you will get longer life since the filament is not being heated and stressed to it's designed 130 volt operating voltage, but the lumen output drops off disproportionately.

You can back-in to these specs using Ohm's law for the heated filament resistance but you will get variations since filament diameter and length can change in the designs as well.

Simply put, the 130 volt designated bulbs should last longer, will use less than their stated 130 volt wattage at 120 volts, run cooler, but produce only about 75% of the lumen output of their equivalent 120 volt counterparts.

In certain situations I will need all the light I can get. I'll use 120v. I think I'll try the wally world no names or Bjs has Fiet's..a dozen for $15...i think I heard of them. Thanks all!