When shopping for new bulbs for your light fixtures, it's easy for the massive variety in the bulb aisle to feel overwhelming. You may not always know what size or wattage to buy for the lamps and other fixtures. Here are three helpful tips for matching a light bulb’s wattage to any fixture in your home.
1. Examine Your Fixtures
Before you go shopping for bulbs, a great place to start is by examining the light sockets on the fixtures. Most lamps will have some information about what type of light bulb you can use and offer a maximum wattage. Going over the maximum wattage may result in overlamping, which you should avoid. If your fixture has multiple light sockets, it may provide a maximum wattage that applies to all the bulbs.
2. Read the Bulb
Like how fixtures will typically tell you about the maximum wattage for bulbs, the bulb itself contains the information you need. Carefully read about the bulb's base to see if the wattage is available. On certain types of bulbs, such as LED lights, you may see multiple numbers indicating the actual number of watts the bulb uses compared to the actual brightness of the wattage.
3. Picking the Best Bulb for You
One tip for matching light bulb wattage to a fixture is not going over your fixture’s maximum wattage. Going over may result in overheating and damage to your socket and the bulb. Once you know what wattage to work with, you may choose between incandescent, LED, halogen, or whatever lights work best for your home. Wattage focuses more on power, but different bulbs can safely offer differing levels of brightness or warmth that come down to personal preference.
If you suspect you may have overlamped your fixtures at some point and need to hire an emergency electrician in San Diego, Anson Electric has the experts and specialists to help you with your lighting needs. Contact us today to schedule an appointment.
