The compact fluorescent bulbs are finally good and cheap

I bought a number of types of compact fluorescent bulbs recently and was just astonished at how good and how cheap they have become.

I like warm white or soft white ones, and hate the cool white ones because they are too blue and make people look like ghosts.

The fluorescent spotlights cost a few dollars more, but they are well worth the price! I replaced a 75 watt incandescent bulb with an 11 watt spotlight, and it was much brighter than the incandescent. Leaving it on all night costs about 2 cents.

One drawback is that if fluorescents are cold, they start off dim and slowly become brighter as they warm up. If a light is turned on and off frequently, and if you need it to come on full brightness immediately, you should probably just leave the incandescent.

So the basic things you need to decide are:

Will you turn that light on and off frequently (as opposed to turning it on once a day and leaving it on for hours), and does the light need to come on at full brightness immediately?
If so, just leave the incandescent in. If not, replace as soon as possible, and certainly replace before next summer comes.

Is the switch that controls that light just an 0n-off switch, or is it a dimmer?
Buy regular compact fluorescents for on-off switches, but buy dimmable compact fluorescents (which are more expensive) for use with dimmers.

Choose warm white or soft white, unless you prefer cool white. Warm white and soft white have light most similar to incandescent light.

If you have a socket facing downward, it might be worth trying a compact fluorescent spotlight. You will find that it is much brighter, and you may be able to replace a 75 watt or 100 watt incandescent with an 11 watt (equivalent light to a 60 watt incandescent) spotlight and actually have more light where you need it.

Before buying a lot of them, it would be best to buy, for example, a few giving the equivalent light of 40 watt, 60 watt, 75 watt, and 100 watt incandescents, and a couple of different spotlights. Try them out, and then you will have a better feel for how many of each you need.

If you buy them in bulk, they can cost as little as a couple of dollars each.