There are plenty of advantages to switching the bulbs in your home over to LED lighting. LED bulbs are more energy-efficient, last longer, and can save you money in the long run over incandescent equivalents. And when it comes to choosing one, you want to ensure you select a reputable brand and reliable product. You can't get more reputable when it comes to lighting than GE. The is an excellent option to consider thank to its soft white glow. It's a color temperature that makes it ideal for any main room in the home, like the living room or bedroom, and, of course, the trusted brand reputation. But there are other alternatives worth considering, too.
Best Overall: GE Relax High Definition LED Light Bulb - 6-Pack
The trusted brand reputation of GE makes this an attractive option, and the lighting division of the company was just acquired by leading home automation company Savant, providing even more brand power behind it.
The simple, soft white bulb can be swapped in for any old A19 bulb inside the home as an ideal 60-watt replacement that uses only 10.5 watts of energy. It provides ample brightness at 800 lumens and is dimmable so you can adjust the brightness to your liking or based on the setting or situation.
The idea behind the Relax line is to match the light to your space, which means this bulb can be equally great for your bedroom as it is for the living room or dining area. It accomplishes this through 2,700K color temperature, which is the right glow for the aforementioned rooms as well as areas like entryways. With LED technology, they can last upwards of 13 years before they need to be replaced, the set comes with six bulbs so you can swap out all the bulbs in your house in one shot.
Pros:
- Affordable
- 2,700K for use in many rooms
- Bright 800 lumens
- Indoor use only
- Might not need all bulbs
- No colors
GE Relax High Definition LED Light Bulb - 6-Pack
Trusted brand reputation
With six bulbs in a pack, you can replace all the old A19 bulbs in your home with more energy-efficient and long-lasting LED ones.
Best for Smart Home: Philips Hue White A19 Bulb – 2-Pack
If you're looking for a set of bulbs you can use to replace old incandescent ones and connect to a smart home at the same time, Philips Hue is one of the top brands in this space. And this two-pack of A19 bulbs is a great way to get started.
You can use them as regular bulb replacements. However, if you grab the Philips Hue Hub as well, it will enable remote control through the Philips Hue app as well as voice control using Amazon Alexa, Apple HomeKit, or Google Assistant (a compatible smart speaker is required). With the Hub, you can also do things like add lighting to different scenes in other apps and create lighting schedules.
Fitting standard-sized table lamps and other lighting fixtures, the bulbs are dimmable and use 9.5 watts to output 840 lumens of soft white light. If you decide to expand your smart home lighting, you can connect these bulbs to other bulbs as well as accessories like dimmer switches and motion sensors.
Pros:
- Dimmable
- Smart capabilities
- Fits most lamp bulbs
- Requires Hub for smart features
- No colors
- Expensive
Philips Hue White A19 Light Bulb – 2-Pack
Start to go smart
Kick off a smart home set-up with these bulbs that can be used with the optional Hub to allow for remote control.
Best for Setting the Mood: ILC Color Changing Light Bulbs – 2-Pack
Set the right mood, whether it's a jumping party or a romantic dinner date evening with these color-changing bulbs that offer six mood modes: flash, strobe, smooth, passionate, relaxed, and romantic. They use 16 beads, and 1-watt high brightness LED chips to offer the perfect lighting for different situations.
With 12 watts usage to replace a standard 85-watt incandescent light, you'll get an ultra-bright 1,050-lumen bulb that is ideal for using anywhere inside the house as well as outside, like on the porch or balcony or in the garden area.
It comes with a remote that can be used to turn the lights on and off, set timers, and adjust brightness among four levels. Once you turn them off, they'll still remember the last color or mode used so you can queue them up instantly the next day.
Pros:
- Very bright
- Can use outdoors
- Different colors
- Comes with remote
- Only four brightness levels
- Not many colors
- Might be too bright
ILC Color Changing Light Bulbs – 2-Pack
Set the mood
Whether you're having a party or cozying up with a good book, you can set the mood with the right color, brightness, and mode.
Best for Entire Home: AmazonBasics A19 LED Light Bulb – 6-Pack
This set comes with six bulbs in the back, enough for you to swap out every A19 bulb in your home with new, more energy-efficient LED ones. With 15,000-hour life, they can last up to 13 years based on three hours of usage per day.
While they aren't dimmable, they'll meet your basic needs for simulating daylight in various rooms of the home via 450 lumens of brightness that only use about 6.5 watts of energy. You won't want these for areas or rooms that you need super bright light, like the bathroom. But for most spots in your room, like your bedside night table lamp or reading room lamp, they will suffice.
At 40 watts, keep in mind that they appear to be slightly larger than your typical A19 bulb, so you might not be able to fit them into tiny lamps with little wiggle room around the shade and the bulb, or tight spots. But in terms of value for the money and the ability to update all the lights in your home in one shot, it's a good option.
Pros:
- Affordable
- Simulates daylight
- Only uses 6.5 watts of energy
- Slightly bigger than usual A19 bulbs
- Non-dimmable
- Only one color
- Not super bright
AmazonBasics A19 LED Light Bulb – 6-Pack
Swap it all out
Swap all the bulbs in your home from incandescent to these more energy-efficient LED ones that come with six in a pack.
Best for Bathroom: Cotanic Vanity Light Bulb – 4-Pack
You need extra bright light in your bathroom or on your vanity mirror to provide enough illumination to do things like shave your beard and put on make-up. And these bulbs offer 5,000K daylight glare-free color temperature that is more than bright enough to meet those needs.
With an E26 medium base, they provide the equivalent of 60-watt incandescent lights and are ideal for the vanity mirror or bathroom as well as to use in a chandelier, wall sconce, pendant, kitchen, office, or anywhere else you need bright light. You'll get a total of 500 lumens and a 5-watt globe light from the non-dimmable lights that can run for up to 30,000 hours.
Despite the bright lighting, they provide less heat output thanks to the aluminum material that helps dissipate heat to extend the lifespan. They are also made from flame-retardant material.
Pros:
- Ultra-bright for vanity, bathroom
- Less heat output
- Flame-retardant material
- Might be too bright
- Non-dimmable
- For limited rooms
Cotanic Vanity Light Bulb – 4-Pack
Bright lights
Get ultra-bright globe lighting wherever you need it, from your bathroom to the vanity, kitchen, or chandelier.
Best for Vintage Look: CRLight C7 LED Night Light Bulb – 2-Pack
Fitting C7 sized bulbs, these bulbs, which come in a two-pack, have E12 candelabra bases and clear glass C7 mini candle torpedo shapes for a retro-chic look that will fit certain pendant lamps, wall lamps, desk lamps, chandeliers, and other lighting.
Offering 150 lumens of brightness with a full 360-degrees beam angle, they provide a 2,700K warm white glow that is nearly identical to incandescent. While they aren't dimmable, they are eco-friendly, as with any LED light bulb, and offer an up to 30,000+ life span, which can translate to up to 16 years based on five hours of use per day.
They also feature overload, short circuit, and over-temperature protection to provide added peace-of-mind.
Pros:
- Cool retro look
- Overload, short circuit, over-temperature protection
- Fits C7 sockets
- Not very bright
- Non-dimmable
CRLight C7 LED Night Light Bulbs – 2-Pack
Vintage chic
The perfect light for a vintage and stylish look in compatible pendant, wall, or desk lamps, chandeliers, or other lights.
Bottom line
If you haven't yet switched your home lighting over to LED, what are you waiting for? There are so many advantages to doing so. While the bulbs themselves will typically cost more upfront (though there are some seriously affordable options these days), you'll save money in the long run. Not only with the bulbs last for much longer – in some cases, up to 15 or 16 years! – but they will also draw less energy from the home, which can translate to reduced electricity bills. Not to mention that you're contributing to helping the environment.
While there are tons of LED lights on the market today, you can't go wrong with a trusted brand like GE. Now owned by home automation company Savant, GE lighting products like the , are ideal for those looking to swap bulbs but who also want to stick with a tried and trusted brand. With six in a pack for a very affordable price, it's a great way to swap out the bulbs in the main rooms of the home, like the living room, bedroom, and kitchen, to get started. The ability to dim, the long-lasting lifespan of about 13 years, and the 800 lumens of light that's equivalent to a typical 60-watt incandescent bulb, will make the transition seamless.
Credits — The team that worked on this guide
Christine Persaud resides in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, with her husband and 8-year-old son. When she moved from a condo to a house five-and-a-half years ago, she switched every bulb in the home to LED and went a step further to have a Savant home automation system installed to control them.