I have dimming recess lights in my rec room. What are the best BR40 bulbs to buy that waste the least energy?

Question

for example these are the kind of bulbs i have now:
http://www.servicelighting.com/catalog_product.cfm?prod=EK49801

I am trying to find bulbs that are dimmable and that dont waste too much energy because i have 10 recess lights.

Answer 1

Without knowing at all what equates to BR40 other than wattage; what are the socket sizes? the usual incandescent size or a chandelier size?

If you're not bothered by a bulb type asthetically; I have a suggestion. I'm looking at a package at the moment. The mfg. is Sylvania, but there are numerous brands. It's a spiral; screw in florescent, in this case; 60 watt using 13 watt energy.
It's small enough to easily fit into most CANS.

Steven Wolf

ADD ON: I have never attempted use with a dimmer, but the cost of one bulb to test it will be minimal.

Answer 2

Contrary to popular belief dimmers do not save energy. Even if the lights are emitting 1% of light the dimmer is consuming and emitting the rest of the unused energy as heat. The best bulbs to save energy are the LED "light emitting diodes" but pretty expensive. The next best is the fluorescent Edison based bulbs though they are not as expensive and only a few support dimming, they can take a while to warm up and contain mercury and some state laws require proper disposal. If you are wanting to stick with incandescents try to find the 130 volt brands, the element is a bit stronger and helping the life span of the bulb saving you money in the long run.

Answer 3

That bulb is about as good as you can get for those fixtures and have them remain dimmable.