Which light bulb to use in your bankers lamp and why

When getting a light bulb for your banker’s lamp, the most important is to get one that fits within the lampshade. The light bulbs with the best fit for bankers’ lamp shades are cylinder-shaped T10 light bulbs.

I prefer energy-efficient, light bulbs that give off a warm light without giving off much heat. Finally, I prefer frosted bulbs as they scatter the light evenly in the shade. A bulb that has all these qualities, that I use myself, and highly recommend, is T10, frosted, 40W equivalen LED light bulbs. They are very energy efficient and are perfect for bankers lamps. You can get this 2-pack from Landlite from Amazon, or you can find them in your local hardware store.

If you find the LED bulbs to be a bit expensive, you can go for the traditional incandescent light bulbs with the same shape, like this 40W bulb from Satco from Amazon. Although the lower price might be tempting, the LED bulbs are the better choice. Incandescent light bulbs have a much shorter lifespan and are less energy efficient. Over time, this makes incandescent light bulbs more expensive.

Check out the comparison table below where I compare the alternatives. Here you can also see the estimated yearly cost when using the light bulb for 3 hours a day, assuming an electricity price of 0.13$ per kW/h (US 2018 average).

	T10 Frosted LED bulb	T10 Clear LED bulb	T10 frosted incandescent bulb	T10 Clear incandescent bulb
Wattage	5W (60W equivalent)	4W (40W equivalent)	40W	40W
Shape & size	T10	T10	T10	T10
Base	E26	E26	E26	E26
Type	LED	LED	Incandescent	Incandescent
Average rated hours	30000	30000	1000	1000
Estimated yearly cost (3h daily, 0.13$ kW/h)	0.71$	0.57$	5.69$	5.69$

With this side by side comparison, it becomes evident that LED bulbs are the better choice. Esepacially when you consider the much lower average rated hours (lifespan) of incandescent bulbs.

This is true not only for your banker’s lamp bulb, but to every single lightbulb in your home. Continue reading to learn more about the different types of light bulbs, their characteristics, and how you can save money by replacing energy inefficient light bulbs.

Light bulb basics

Shape and size

Different light bulbs are classified according to their shape. The first shape we think of with regards to light bulbs is the standard, rounded, A type. Depending on what type of lamp you have, different shapes may be better suited.

When getting a new light bulb, the letter code for the shape should be specified on the packaging. In addition, there’s usually a picture of the bulb. If you are going to replace a bulb and don’t have the package, you might have to determine the shape type by eye.

The letter code for shape is followed by a number. This number gives you the diameter of the bulb at its widest point. Depending on where you live, it might be designated in inches or cm/mm. If designated in inches, the number is the width of the bulb at its widest point designated in eighths of an inch (0.125 in).

If a standard  A bulb is designated as being 15, it means that its max diameter is 1/8 of an inch (0.125 in) times 15, which equals 1.875 in. You can also calculate this by dividing 15 by 8.

Bulb base

The bulb base is the part of the light bulb that you screw into the socket. When you’re getting a new light bulb it is important that you get one that fits. Fortunately, the base sizes are more or less standardized around the world, which makes choosing a bulb easier.

Most lamps, including bankers lamps, use the medium/standard bulb base. This is indicated by a letter and number code which for North-America is E26 (or MES), and E27 (ES) for Europe. Other lamps, like chandeliers, might use narrower bulb bases, such as the candelabra or intermediate sizes:

• Candelabra: E12 in North-America and E11 in Europe.
• Intermediate: E17 in North-America and E14 (small ES, SES) In Europe.

Bulb technology

Modern light bulbs use different types of technology to generate light. Some are more energy efficient than others, which in turn makes them cheaper to use. Because of this, your choice of light bulbs might actually influence your electricity bill in the long term.

Incandescent bulbs

This is the traditional light bulb which emits light from a glowing wire within the bulb. Many swear to this type of light bulb because of their comfortable, yellow light. These bulbs are also the cheapest ones, however, the technology is many years old and they are not energy efficient and have a short lifespan.

CFL/fluorescent bulbs

CFL or fluorescent bulbs work by passing an electric current through gas vapor. This creates ultraviolet light that activates a coating on the inside of the bulb which causes it to glow or fluoresce, hence the name fluorescent.

This technology was first used in the long light tubes in the ceiling lighting in office buildings, schools, and universities. Although they cost more, these bulbs are way more energy efficient as they can emit the same amount of light while operating at a lower wattage. In addition, they have about 10 times the longevity of incandescent bulbs.

Because of the technology (electric current must be passed in a tube), they might not come as traditional rounded bulbs, however, they come in both short and elongated shapes.

LED bulbs

LED stands for light emitting diode. These bulbs works by passing a current through two semiconductors with different properties, which produces photons that emits the light that you see. Although it is the most expensive type, LED bulbs are the most energy efficient and have by far the longest lifespan, which is up to 50 times that of an incandescent bulb.

Which bulb to choose?

Many swear to the incandescent bulbs because of their yellow/warmer light, or because they are cheaper. Although these arguments used to hold some truth, it is simply not the case anymore.

Light color:

It used to be true that CFL and LED lamps emitted a more white or bluish light (cold light). Luckily, this is not the case anymore. To choose a CFL or LED bulb with a yellow light you simply have to look at the color temperature of the bulb. This is designated in kelvin (K), which should be specified on the package.

Incandescent bulbs emit yellow light, operating at the lower end of the spectrum (around 2800K). If you want a CFL or LED bulb that emits a yellow light, you simply buy one that operates near the same level of the spectrum.

Cost:

CFL and LED bulbs used to be significantly more expensive. Although they are still cost more, their price has decreased significantly since their introduction to the market. Another important cost aspect which is not reflected in the purchase price is that CFL and LED bulbs last way longer and operate at a lower wattage. This means that they last longer and they reduce your energy consumption.

This can dramatically reduce the amount of money spent on light bulbs and electricity in your home. For example, let’s say that your bankers lamp operate with a 40W incandescent bulb, and you use it 3 hours per day. This will result in energy usage of 0.12 kWh per day, which equals 43.8 kW/h in a year. With an energy cost of 0.13$ per kWh (average price in the US 2018), you have to pay 5.69$ a year for using the lamp.

If you were to switch to a LED bulb, you only need a 6W bulb for it to emit the same amount of light. With the same usage, it will only use 0.02 kWh per day, which equals 7.3 kWh in a year, which translates to 0.85$ with the same energy price.

Although the numbers are small for a single bulb, the LED bulb cost 85% less to use per year. For an LED bulb, it will be even lower. If you consider the number of light bulbs present in a house or apartment, and that the longevity of an incandescent bulb is much shorter, it is not difficult to come to the conclusion that CFL and LED bulbs can save you significant sums of money in the long term, even if they cost more to buy.

To estimate the energy usage of different light bulbs you can play around with this calculator at http://energyusecalculator.com.

Conclusion

At this point, you should be convinced to change from incandescent to CFL or LED bulbs. The lower energy consumption can not only save you money, it can also help the environment. Lowering the energy demand from every household can reduce the total energy demand, lowering the need to dam up rivers or build energy plants that run on fossil fuels.

When changing from incandescent to CFL or LED bulbs, there are a couple of things you should know about.

Brightness

First, you want to get CFL/LED bulbs that emit the same amount of light/brightness. This is measured in lumens, and should be given on the packaging.

The brightness is related to the wattage of a light bulb. A standard 60W light bulb gives off around 800 lumens. In order to get CFL/LED bulbs which emit equal amounts of light (lumen), you can roughly divide the wattage of your incandescent bulb with  5 for the equivalent wattage for a CFL bulb, and with 6 for a LED bulb (see chart).

Wattage

Lamps operate at different maximal wattage. It is important not to use light bulbs with a higher wattage than what is given for a light fixture, as it can damage the socket or wiring. This is especially true for incandescent bulbs, as they produce a lot more heat, but as a general rule, you should pay attention to this also when using CFL or LED bulbs.

If you don’t know what the maximum wattage of your lamp, you can look for it in several places;

• It should be given on the original packaging.
• If your lamp somewhat new, you can try to find it online and read the product description.
• Often, the max wattage is written somewhere on a sticker on the lamp (socket, base, inside the shade).
• If you are still unable to find it, but the bulb you have in your lamp has lasted for a long time without any issues (or it’s the one that came with the lamp), you can be relatively confident that the bulb has an appropriate wattage for the lamp.

If you want some more information about lumen and the difference in color temperature, check out this video on youtube from CNET. If you feel ready to start replacing your light bulbs with more energy-efficient CFL and LED bulbs, you can check out the table below. Here you can find the most commonly used light bulbs which you can get delivered to your home from Amazon.