The outdoor lights makes your yard look more highlighted and safer to continue enjoying after sunsets. But, for outdoor lighting, what kind of bulb is better: LED, halogen, incandescent, or CFL? The option between the two most popular bulbs, LED lights vs incandescent light bulbs, can be quite confusing.
Types of Outdoor Light Bulbs
We have discussed 3 types of bulbs from Dazuma
- LED Light Bulbs: Simple, it's a light-emitting diode that becoming famous and recommendable due to several benefits. Not only because of its longevity but also due to its lower energy consumption and availability in different shapes and brightness levels. As it emits more light and consumes less energy.
- Halogen Light Bulb: They are not energy-efficient as they work on a halogen gas to increase light output. They have a shorter lifespan of nearly 2000 hours but are mostly used in garages and other zones.
- Incandescent Light Bulbs: It's another type of exterior lighting and the cheapest option but consumes more energy. They are also not long-lasting and are mostly used for outdoor lighting to increase visibility.
Incandescent vs LED- What’s the Difference?
LED is the full form of a Light-emitting Diode. It's an electronic device that simply emits light when current is passed through it. Whereas the traditional incandescent bulb works differently, they first heat the piece of wire and then emit light.
Why Choose Incandescent Bulbs?
After the arrival of LED lights, Incandescent outdoor light bulbs are still popular due to a couple of factors. Let’s discuss, why they are still considered by the people.
1. Cost:
Price is the first reason that attracts people to buy normal lights. They are relatively inexpensive and only cost 2$, in contrast, LEDs typically range from 3$ to 10$.
2. Color:
These traditional bulbs' glow is connected with people's likes giving them a warm and old home vibe. Also, it offers a perfect CRI of 100 for warm light and 2700k for color temperature. Whereas, the LED light index ranges from 65 to 98.
3. Directionality:
Incandescent bulbs emit light in 360 directions known as omnidirectional lighting and on the other hand, LED emit light in a 180-degree direction which targets a specific area only.
Why Choose LED Lights?
LED has become a major wave for the foreseeable future due to its greater demand. As they are more expensive than the regular lights but due to numerous advantages. They quickly become the most preferred choice.
The best LED light is shown in the graph, the S14 bulb with an average life hours.
1. Energy Efficiency:
LED bulbs save more energy than classic bulbs. For example, a 1 to 2-watt LED bulb can be replaced by a regular 25-watt incandescent light. LEDs consume 80% of the energy as light but normal bulbs consume 80% of energy to emit 10% of light. Due to this, consumers have to pay heavy energy bills.
2. Lifespan:
LED lights have a longer lifespan of 50,000-100,000 hours. It's almost 100 times more efficient than an incandescent lamp. On the other hand, Incandescent lights can operate for 1200 hours, which means they require regular replacements.
3. Maintenance:
Due to a longer lifespan LEDs don't require higher maintenance. They can work from 5 to 20 years, depending on the brand and its quality. Incandescent bulbs have a shorter lifespan, so require higher maintenance, resulting in yearly expenses.
4. Safe for the Environment:
Another advantage is they are safe for the environment. They disperse more energy as light, whereas traditional gives off more heat than light. Also, LEDs are made of non-toxic material and don't contain hazardous chemicals and mercury.
What is the Best Bulb for an Outside Light?
1. Allow to Build Unique and Desired Look:
LED allows more flexibility for creative designs. Outdoor bulbs are directional which allow one to focus on a specific area or object. This is very useful for landscaping lighting because of its dramatic effects.
2. LEDs do not Attract Insects:
Insects are mostly attracted to UV lights and LEDs do not emit Ultraviolet rays. Therefore, insects are not attracted to them the same way they are attracted to incandescent bulbs. It makes your outdoor living more classy and vibing on winter and summer nights.
Is Warm white or Cool white better for Outdoor lights?
As you read above, you should be able to identify which bulb is best for your outside porch. Not only because it saves energy but it can also connected to wi-fi as it has a wireless range. Smart bulbs have smartphone options too, it can easily controlled by phone or other devices. Most LED bulbs' average price is now $15 or 10$. They use about 75% less energy than normal lights and can last 25 times longer contributions.
1. Allow to Build Unique and Desired Look:
LED allows more flexibility for creative designs. Outdoor bulbs are directional which allow one to focus on a specific area or object. This is very useful for landscaping lighting because of its dramatic effects.
2. LEDs do not Attract Insects:
Insects are mostly attracted to UV lights and LEDs do not emit Ultraviolet rays. Therefore, insects are not attracted to them the same way they are attracted to incandescent bulbs. It makes your outdoor living more classy and vibing on winter and summer nights.
Is Warm white or Cool white better for Outdoor lights?
Things to Consider when Choosing the Best Outdoor Bulb
Keep these things in mind, whenever you are buying bulbs for your outdoor space because it has to face more conditions than indoor areas.
1. Weather Resistance:
The first thing to consider is bulb weather rating that will tell what weather condition they can survive. Not all bulbs are weather-resistant that’s why bulbs need a fixture with shielding. In this case, LED light bulbs are strong and more efficient to use for outdoor spaces.
2. Consider Base:
Check out the bulb base size as some fixtures need bulbs with smaller bases (E17 or E12). So whenever you are replacing bulbs look out for their base before choosing the E26 base bulb.
3. Lifespan and durability:
Ask for the bulb's lifespan and its durability. Also, how much energy is consumed, and what voltage is required for it? Only LED smart bulbs have longer lifespans and are more durable than other regular lights.
Summing Up
It is now pretty clear that LED lights are the best option to choose, whether are required for outdoor string lights, mini lights, or events. As it's a time of smart devices, replacing incandescent bulbs with LED is a more beneficial option. With the variety of bulb shapes and reasons listed above, LED string lights perfect solution for all your Outdoor needs. These lights save energy and the life of bulbs and also don't require maintenance. LEDs are durable, eco-friendly, affordable, safe, and enhance value to your space.
FAQs
- What is the Lifespan of outdoor light? LED lights designed for outdoor last up to 50,000 hours or even more, depending on their types and features.
- Can LED bulbs be dimmed? Yes, these LED outdoor lighting can be tuned and dimmed using its dimming switches.
- Are LED lights waterproof?Not all but most of the LED outdoor lights are designed to be weather resistant and can survive in rain, snow, and other harsh weather.
- Do LED lights attract insects?No, LED outdoor lights do not emit UV rays as traditional sources, which make them less attractive to insects.