the past week, after being repeatedly told we were
living like moles (in the dark) i finally got around
to buying a replacement light for under the cabinets
(and over the counter where we do a lot of prep work).
it's the most frequently and most extensively used
light in the house.

a replacement CFL bulb was about $9. uck! i've
replaced enough of these bulbs over the past few
years and even replaced the light too when the old
one fried some component so it was time to look
at LED replacement options. the battery operated
stuff doesn't make much sense to me at all. why
spend a lot of money for an efficient fixture and
then waste the benefits by using batteries? i
mean, what are they thinking??? the other options
were the wire lines of LEDs and a direct wired type
like the one i was replacing. $35 is a bit steep,
but at new bulbs running $9 each i think i'll be
ahead after a few years.

direct wiring, always fun, especially when you get
the thing apart and realize the wire from the wall is
short and the wire connectors inside the light are also
not long enough. hmm, thought i was going to have to
become more extreme to get some more wire length out of
the wall, but it turned out i could squeek another inch
on the wire and so it would hold long enough after i
twisted it on. certainly did some choice wording about
the process along the way.

however, once it was back up and the power turned
back on the new light certainly is much brighter
than what we had before. in fact, it is almost
too bright. i'm sure we'll get used to it...

LED prices continue to fall. per lumen the least
expensive non-dimmable bulbs are about half of what
they were a year ago. picked up a three pack and used
them to replace the useless lights over the sink with
much brighter lights and the spare went in here so i
can test it for a photography project. eventually
the track lighting will get replaced, a lot of 60w and
75w bulbs getting towards the end of their time.


songbird