Tips on buying, using light bulbs

•Buy bulbs with familiar name brands. They’re manufactured to higher standards and will last longer than cheap bulbs, said Steve Goldmacher of Philips Lighting and David Bounce of Carriage House Lighting in Copley Township, Ohio.

•Pay attention to lumens rather than just watts. Lumens measure light output; watts measure energy use. To save energy, aim for more lumens from fewer watts.

•Check the lamp or fixture for maximum wattage before buying a bulb for it. Don’t exceed the maximum, because the lamp parts can’t handle the heat, Bounce said.

•Not all compact fluorescents work well in the cold, Goldmacher said. If you plan to use one outdoors, choose one specifically labeled for that purpose.

•When you’re buying standard incandescent light bulbs, Goldmacher recommended choosing soft white bulbs rather than cheaper frosted bulbs for most applications. Soft white bulbs have a coating that reduces glare.

•Buy 130-volt incandescent bulbs rather than 120-volt, suggested Joe Rey-Barreau of the University of Kentucky College of Design. They have a thicker filament that can withstand more voltage than the standard 120-volt household current, so they last much longer but cost about the same.

•Clear bulbs are hard to look at, so avoid them in fixtures such as dressing-room lights where the bulbs are plainly visible and the light might bother your eyes.

•Bounce also recommended choosing frosted rather than clear bulbs for fixtures with glass shades that aren’t clear. If you use a clear bulb, the filament will cast a shadow that will show up on the shade as an unattractive dark line.

•Clear bulbs are a good choice for fixtures with clear shades, he said. That way the bulb is less noticeable when the light is off.

•Look for an Energy Star label when you’re buying compact fluorescent bulbs, Goldmacher said. That indicates the product meets or exceeds the federal program’s standards for energy efficiency.

•Rather than using a three-way bulb, choose the brightest bulb a lamp or fixture can handle and add a dimmer, he suggested. Three-way bulbs work by means of two filaments. One or the other filament lights at the low and medium levels, and both light at the brightest level. So when one filament burns out, you’re left with only one lighting level.

•A dimmer, on the other hand, gives you infinite choices. What’s more, dimming a light just 10 percent doubles the life of the bulb, Bounce said. Dimmers even come in plug-in versions for table lamps.

•Not all compact fluorescent bulbs can be used with dimmers, however. Check the label to make sure the one you’re choosing can.