Who doesn’t love classic modern rustic, am I right? Even though this design aesthetic will inevitably slip away, exposed-bulb fixtures aren’t going anywhere. And there’s no way you’re putting a plain bulb in a fixture like that.

Traditional incandescent Edison bulbs are a terrible choice in lighting. Ninety percent of the energy they consume is lost as heat, and the little bit of light they do put out is very, very warm (like, orange). But the aesthetic appeal of vintage-look bulbs is so great that for many years we chose them anyway—until something better came along.

Six years ago, a Satellite Beach scientist named Fred Maxik gave humanity its first LED Edison bulb. What’s up, Florida! Maxik was named ‘Sustainability Hero of the Year’ for his achievement.

Since then, LED bulb tech has advanced by leaps and bounds. There’s a much broader range of brightness and temperature and lots of size and shapes are available now—globe, tube, torpedo, crystalline, flambeau and many more.

But there are a few things you need to know before adding a box of bulbs to your Amazon cart, and I’ve done the homework for you. Just kick back, read these words of wisdom and then shop with confidence.

COST & LIFESPAN

LED Edison bulbs last five times longer than incandescent bulbs and use a fraction of the electricity. A $5 LED bulb will last decades. Fun fact: The average American home has 40 light bulbs. If you replaced them all with LEDs, you’d save $300 a year.

BRIGHTNESS

Vintage-look bulbs are meant to be seen, so they’re intentionally less bright than incandescents. But there are some LED bulbs that would sear your retina if you looked directly at them. The info below will make sure that doesn’t happen.

TEMPERATURE

Warm white, bright white, daylight—these are all subjective terms. The real color of light is expressed by where it falls on the Kelvin Scale. For best results, make sure the kelvin rating of all the lights in one room is matching—2700K on the ceiling and 4000K in lamps is just awkward.

Q

I’m ordering LED bulbs from Amazon and they have dozens of pages of options. Which ones do I get?

A

Ignore talk of wattages and words like warm and bright. Focus exclusively on lumens and kelvins. Lumens give you a concrete indication of how bright a bulb really is, the higher the lumen, the brighter the light. Kelvins let you know exactly where the color falls on the Kelvin Scale, the higher the kelvin, the cooler the light. But let’s not get too technical. Here’s your cheat sheet:

10 watts = 50 lumens
15 watts = 100 lumens
25 watts = 200 lumens
40 watts = 450 lumens

60 watts = 800 lumens
75 watts = 1100 lumens
100 watts = 1600 lumens
150 watts = 2600 lumens

2200K = Very, very warm (bedroom)
2700K = Warm & cozy (living room)
3000K = Clean & functional (kitchen)
4000K = Crisp & bright (laundry)
5000K = Super white (garage)

Q

What if I want clean white light for my kitchen but don’t want to wear solar eclipse glasses while I’m washing dishes?

A

For very white light that’s not uncomfortable to look upon, go for high kelvins to get the white color, but low lumens so the bulbs aren’t unbearably bright. The kitchen pendants shown here feature 5000K bulbs, which are very white, but they’re paired with a mere 150 lumens, which is not very bright at all. The result? Perfect white kitchen light!

FILAMENT DESIGN

Vintage LED bulbs get their look from stringing light-emitting diodes together into “filaments” (they’re not really filaments). When the fake filaments are arranged in long columns they look more industrial, whereas twisty filaments look more arty. The way they’re arranged also makes a difference in the way light is cast when the bulb is on.

• Columns of filaments look the neatest when turned off.

• Crisscross filaments provide the most uniform illumination.

• Twisty filaments cast the fewest shadows.

THE FUTURE IS NOW

All LED bulbs work with smart switches or plugs, or can be controlled with voice commands. We’ve come a long way from The Clapper, baby!

ABOUT USING EDISON BULBS IN ENCLOSED FIXTURES

Don’t.

Enclosed fixtures don’t ventilate well, which overheats the bulb and shortens its lifespan. Since the higher price you pay for an LED bulb is for longevity—well, you see where I’m going with this. And anyway, why waste all that style in an enclosed fixture where you can’t see it?

Christy Rosen Clement is a Pricing Strategy Advisor®, Seller Representative Specialist®, Military Relocation Professional® and REALTOR® at Palermo Real Estate Professionals in South Tampa