When going "not new," pairs are a conundrum.

I need to update my bathrooms. The marquee style vanity lights looked bad enough to begin with, but now the only LED replacement bulbs I can find are clear, rather than frosted, and they virtually blind you. I have been using CFL replacements, but they are a bit ugly as they have a big metal base a third of the way up the globe. Plus, the CFLs aren't as economical for a bathroom situation as the ballast in them blows off every time they are switched on...so they don't last as long in environments where they are frequently switched on and off. In fact, I "timed" (writing the install date on the bulbs) my CFLs in my downstairs bathroom (LOTS of off-and-ons) and they lasted slightly over a year rather than the projected seven. That's pricey and not good for the environment as they contain a bit of mercury.

I use the term "update" loosely as when you update with used stuff, you are mostly changing rather than updating. However, I like going with antique or unusual looks rather than the latest style (which is guaranteed to look dated in 10 to 20 years). However, finding matching pairs is a real problem. I guess I will just have to be patient. And probably have to pay a bit more. Oh well.

Trying to save without doing your homework can backfire

The other day I was in a government-owned facility that had installed those motion-detector lights that come on when it senses movement. We had to keep waving our arms around to turn the lights back on when they timed off. This wouldn't be so bad in itself, but the lights were fluorescent. Fluorescent lights blow off a bit of ballast every time they turn on, shortening their life substantially. I discovered that the CFLs in my main-floor bathroom (where they are turned on and off a lot) only lasted a year, rather than the 3+ years promised on the package) because of this ballast-loss. Imagine how fast those fluorescent tubes are going to wear out going on and off all day. And CFLs are not only fairly expensive, they contain mercury...something you don't want to stuff in the landfills. I'm not sure if LEDs have a similar problem (I hope not). But, I'm going to research them before I start buying a bunch.