What makes one bulb better than another?
The CRI has the greatest impact on how “good” the bulb is. Actually, a lot of things come into play when just overall good is to be determined such as: cost, longevity, availability, impact on the environment, CRI. Every time the CRI (Color Rendition Index) is mentioned, most people immediately come back with, “oh, it is a warm white”. The “color” of a lamp is not the CRI. CRI is how a lamp renders colors, so you want a great CRI over a bathroom vanity, in a closet or dressing room, or over a food preparation or display area. The best is 100. Some of the best LED’s are in the low 90’s (nice), but they are few, most are in the 70’s or 80’s as is the case with most fluorescent lights. How can you tell? Ask the sales person. If they say it is warm white….go someplace else. Four foot fluorescents are sometimes the easiest, you may see a number like 735 or 835 or 741. The first number means the CRI is in the 70’s (yuck- office hallway is ok) or 80’s (office ok) and the color is 3500k or 4
