Sunday, July 25, 2010

The Latest on Practical LED Lighting

Product availability is really changing fast. Last fall's offerings at Sam's Club and Costco no longer exist. So if you need LED lighting right now, the optimum solution is at Home Depot, "while suppplies last":
HD Online LED bulb This bulb is bright enough at 428 lumens, but a little pricey at $20. But it's by far the best value as all the other LED bulbs that are this bright will set you back $30-$70 each. And get this, it's guaranteed to last for 46 years (vs 7 for CFLs). Other important features are that it reaches full brightness immediately (unlike CFLs) and is dimmable (rare for CFLs).

I have decided to concentrate on standard medium base screw in bulbs, since they will fit the most economical and the most common fixtures.

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Competition for Window World

Apparently another company is trying to compete head-to-head against Window World:
Denver Post Ad for Clear Choice

Careful, service companies like this always try to upsell you on anything they can. Stick to your guns if price is the most important thing to you.

In order to get windows that qualify for the Energy Star rebate, expect to pay significantly more than the $185 shown in this ad. Even if that eats up the whole rebate, remember you should save money every month because you will have a better window that loses less heat.