A quick guide on how to shop bulbs and what to look out for.

Welcome to the confusing world of bulbs. We hope by the end of this post you won’t be confused anymore and you will know exactly what you are looking for when it comes to this confusing glass dome.

Which shape do I need? 

E27, E14, B22, G9? Fed up of number and letters?  They may look confusing, but all you have to do is match these letters with the ones on your light and you can’t go wrong.  These letters just refer to the type of base on the bulb.

How bright are my bulbs?

A simple measure to work out how bright a bulb is is to look at its lumens. Often people think wattage is a way to measure this but that’s just how much energy is used, it is the lumens you need.  Around 400 - 700 lumens is perfect for lighting an average room. 200 - 400 lumens would be good used in multiples or in single table lamps or floor lamp which are not the main light in a room.

Which colour?

All of our light bulbs are available warm white meaning they produce a very subtle yellow glow. Our integrated LED lights like the sputnik ceiling light are a little cooler and have a daylight appearance.  When thinking about lighting you should consider the purpose you are buying your fitting for.  This should also influence your bulb choice. If you want a warmer more atmospheric light then choose our bulbs, if you need a brighter light then choose something from our range of LED products.  

Why is everything now LED?

We only sell LED products and bulbs as they are much more energy efficient, and therefore better for the environment.  Filament style bulbs use up to 60 watts of energy and most of this comes out as heat and not light. The equivalent LED bulb in terms of lumens uses just 6 watts!

Why are LED bulbs more expensive?

LED bulbs last a lot longer than traditional bulbs and the technology is more expensive to develop. Filament bulbs traditionally lasted 2 years but our LED bulbs last 20,000 hours - which equates to 13 years if you use it for 4 hours every day.  This means that they not only save you money on energy usage but also in replacement bulbs.

We hope this goes some way towards de-mystifying the world of bulbs but as usual, if you have any questions please drop us a line on help@houseof.com and we will be happy to help!