Your question is a good one. There are a lot of myths surrounding LEDs. New regulations have just been released (Aug 31 09) and this won’t be a problem any more. We’d love to help you out with your retrofit. We do nothing but LED lights. Call or email me if interested. We are based near Las Vegas, NV. 1-866-413-4045 ext 102 or aj@luminosityled.com. You can also order online @ http://www.luminosityled.com. AJ Rounds

I have one of those 36 vivid lights that I bought from Superbright. They charged $6 extra for white. I like it but the ones I got at American Science were a similar design except they have 60 leds and are about 3″ in diameter. At $2 each I got about 20 of them. I prefer to buy locally in a store.

At Ace Hardware I have bought a few Lights of America bulbs. They say they are 40 watt equivalent and use 1.5 watts. They come in different styles, round or candelabra shape, bright white or warm white. The candelabra ones also come with 2 different bases, standard or candelabra. They look similar to the one I called ice cream cone and have a clear plastic enclosure in both shapes. They sell for $10 and seem to sell out as fast as they get them in.

I saw a GE Para 20 bulb at WalMart. It was $35 so I passed.

Thanks for the tip. I will change the lights in my fridge to LEDs too (since the LEDs stay cool, that should save doubly).

The 36 Vivid C.Crane LED I bought at Eaglelight was under $10, so it should fit your under $20 requirements perfectly.

I like some other LEDs more, but they do cost over $20.

I just bought some more LEDs from Eaglelight.com and I really have to give them a shout-out beacuse they have a 100% money back guarantee and they have very helpful customer service, not to mention lightning fast fulfillment. Rare in this world.

Thanks for your great blog. Mark

Here is an update. I checked my electric bill for the last 6 months. My usage was 15% lower than the previous year during the same period. I just now replaced the bulbs in my refrigerator with LEDs. Although the lights aren’t on for very long at a time, they were 2 40 watts which was more than the rest of the house combined. Also they put out a lot of heat which the refrigerator has to compensate for.

I haven’t heard of the color temperature variations you mention; sounds like an issue of quality control, possibly for smaller brands. I just noticed LED MR16 bulbs at Home Depot from Philips and I would be more confident in their quality control

I understand heat control can be an issue with LEDs and higher temperature can decrease life. Recessed fixtures are more likely to have a problem than track lights, for example. What kind of fixtures do you have?

Thank you so much for this very helpful interview.

For a better online option to buy LED lights at lower prices and better selection, try one of the online stores like http://www.Eaglelight.com.

Eaglelights sells one of the best LED replacement lights, the Pharox, for the lowest price out there, and sells the 36 LEDs VIVID bulb for only $9.99.

The Pharox is the best 40 watt replacement bulb I’ve seen and it’s got a frosted globe which gives off a warm glow, so Warren, you’ll find that it perfectly solves the problem you described of the light being very direct and throwing shadows. That doesn’t happen with the Pharox from Eaglelight.

I also like the PAR20, PAR30 and PAR38 LED bulbs that Eaglelight sells. Those LEDs substitute very well for the 60watt, 75 watt and 100 watt incandescents.

I hope others will post where they get their LEDs and which ones work best for them. The prices and quality has gotten a lot better and I have seen a big reduction in my electric bill.

Many thanks