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I Finally Found the Best LED Lightbulbs for The Bedroom

Laura Fenton
Laura Fenton
Laura Fenton is the author of The Little Book of Living Small and the weekly Living Small newsletter. She writes about home design and sustainability, and is a regular contributor to Apartment Therapy. Her work has been published in Better Homes & Gardens, Eater, New York…read more
published Jun 23, 2023
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Dylan Odbert Los Angeles Midcentury Modern House Tour - Bedroom

I have a confession. I am an energy-saving, waste-reducing zealot, but I resisted the switch to <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="LED%20lightbulbs%20for%20a%20<em>long%20</em>time.%20I%20knew%20LEDs%20were%20the%20best%20choice%20for%20the%20planet%20and%20my%20electric%20bill,%20but%20I%20loved%20my%20incandescent%20bulbs%20fiercely.%20My%20reluctance%20to%20make%20the%20switch%20stemmed%20from%20my%20experiences%20with%20energy-saving%20bulbs,%20including%20the%20dreaded%20compact-fluorescent%20and%20some%20early%20LED%20bulbs,%20which%20left%20me%20convinced%20a%20good%20low-energy%20bulb%20didn%E2%80%99t%20exist.%20</p>%0A%0A%0A%0A<p>However,%20it%E2%80%99s%20my%20job%20to%20write%20about%20homes,%20and%20I%E2%80%99ve%20found%20my%20niche%20writing%20about%20the%20intersection%20of%20home%20design%20and%20sustainability.%20Eco%20experts%20love%20to%20tout%20the%20wonders%20of%20LED%20bulbs,%20and%20they%20came%20up%20in%20my%20reporting%20so%20often%20that%20I%20finally%20started%20asking%20the%20pros,%20%E2%80%9CHow%20could%20I%20get%20that%20warm,%20lovely%20glow%20of%20an%20incandescent%20in%20an%20LED%20bulb?%E2%80%9D</p>%0A%0A%0A%0A<p>First,%20I%20learned%20that%20the%20labeling%20of%20watt%20equivalents%20is%20pretty%20unhelpful%20because%20it%20doesn%E2%80%99t%20tell%20you%20anything%20about%20the%20color%20temperature%20of%20the%20light.%20I%20also%20discovered%20I%20should%20avoid%20anything%20labeled%20%E2%80%9Cdaylight,%E2%80%9D%20which%20was%20a%20surprise.%20Apparently,%20what%20I%20interpreted%20to%20mean%20%E2%80%9Cnatural%E2%80%9D%20actually%20meant,%20a%20cooler,%20blue-ish%20toned%20light%20with%20a%20color%20temperature%20between%205000%20and%206000%20Kelvin.%20Instead,%20the%20experts%20said%20that%20I%20needed%20to%20look%20for%20%E2%80%9Csoft%20white%E2%80%9D%20with%20a%20warmer%20temperature%20of%20about%202500%20to%202700%20Kelvin.%20However,%20even%20that%20tip%20failed%20me%20when%20I%20discovered%20not%20all%20LEDs%20are%20dimmable,%20which%20is%20not%20such%20a%20big%20deal%20in%20my%20kitchen%20but%20is%20a%20dealbreaker%20in%20the%20bedroom,%20where%20I%20need%20calming%20light%20that%20I%20can%20adjust%20to%20precisely%20the%20level%20I%20desire.</p>%0A%0A%0A%0A<p>Next,%20I%20moved%20from%20asking%20the%20pros%20for%20bulb%20specs%20to%20zeroing%20in%20on%20their%20specific%20product%20picks.%20One%20person%20suggested%20that%20if%20I%20wanted%20warmth,%20I%20should%20look%20to%20<a%20href=" https:>GE’s Amber Glass Candle Light bulbs. At 2200K, those turned out to be a little too warm for bedside reading, but I put them in my entryway where their decidedly amber glow lends ambiance but doesn’t hinder tasks. 

That bulb purchase led me to my dream LEDs last year though: GE’s Relax, which you can see above. These white LED, 60 watt equivalent bulbs turned out to be the perfect lighting for my bedroom because they are soft and not too cool — but still bright enough for reading — and are also dimmable. They also last forever (up to 13 years, according to GE’s website). So I won’t have to replace them anytime soon, and so far, so good.

One last thing: If your bedroom lights aren’t on a dimmer yet, they should be! A basic plug-in dimmer switch will let you dim your existing lamps for about $15 to $20 a pop. Just be sure to buy one that is compatible with your new LED bulbs!

This post originally published on Apartment Therapy. Read it there: I Finally Found the Best Bedroom LED Lightbulbs, and I’m Letting You in on My Secret