All-Purpose Lighting for Virtually Every Light Fixture
Written: Feb 24 '08
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Best white light this side of OTT-lite.
Cons: More expensive, less efficient, though higher-watt bulbs don't really add to the consumer cost.
The Bottom Line: If you like to have proper skin tone as you go about your business, you might want to take a look at GE's Reveal line of light bulbs.
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| davidmanning's Full Review: Four Pack 60W Reveal Light Bulbs |
While most of the apartment is now bathed in chandelier-esque light, lamps and bathroom fixtures still use incandescent bulb lights. Have you ever seen a chandelier in a bathroom? So I still need to buy the ever-present classic light bulbs from time to time.
Regular incandescent light bulbs are too "warm" and not closer to true white light, making skin tones kind of jaundiced; fluorescent bulbs are out of the question, since they take too long to warm up (especially in incandescent socketry) and make my skin take on a greenish pallor. The closest approximation I've found, without ripping out the fixtures and starting from scratch, have been the Reveal line of light bulbs from General Electric. While these come in a variety of "strengths", for my three-bulb fixture the 60 watt size hits the happy medium of candlepower versus useful life.
Why Reveal?
GE's Reveal bulbs -- tagline: clean, beautiful light -- generate what they describe as Full Spectrum light. This apparently is accomplished with a rare-earth-metal-impregnated glass (neodymium, for those with a Table of Elements handy) to remove much of the yellow spectrum given off my traditional incandescent bulbs, which results in color correction more toward pure white. They're also somewhat frosted on the inside. As a result, the bulb itself appears faintly pink, though that color isn't obvious when the lamp is switched on.
Does It Work?
I certainly notice the difference. Reveal bulb light actually shift a little bit blue, but it's not nearly as pronounced as the color shifts from other standard-priced bulbs; I'm leaving OTT-lites out of this discussion purposely.
"Lumen" is a unit of perceived light intensity. Reveal bulbs put out 630 lumens; without the frosting, they'd product 650 lumens, according to the GELighting.com website. By contrast, a regular incandescent bulb from GE is rated at up to 865 lumens, while soft-white (frosted) GE bulbs are a smidge lower. So the Reveal line isn't nearly as efficient as other light bulbs.
As with most 60-watt bulbs, the Reveal bulbs have a 1000 hour life expectancy. There's nothing gained by the lower light output on the overall usefulness of the light bulbs. Basically, you'll sacrifice power for color balance. Since that's what I wanted, that's what I get.
Final Thoughts
For indoor lighting, you really can't beat the "whiteness" of Reveal light bulbs. Compared to other, comparably-priced lighting methods, Reveal results in demonstrably truer white light. For that truer light at the same intensity, however, you'll need to bump up a power step, as a 60-watt Reveal puts out about the same intensity as a "normal" 50-watt bulb, and a 75-watt Reveal is comparable to normal or soft-white 60-watt bulbs.
The neodymium glass comes at a bit of a price increase, naturally. I paid $3.29 for a four-pack of 60-watt bulbs, and $4.59 for a six-pack.
For rooms where better-quality light is desired, I'd recommend the GE Reveal bulb. I can't imagine why you'd pay to use these bulbs in outdoor lighting situations or general-purpose lighting, as in a garage, so keeping both types of bulbs on hand might be the right answer for the average homeowner.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
davidmanning
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Location: New York City
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