Energy Efficient Lighting

The typical incandescent bulb is a better source of heat than it is of light. In a few situations, a low-wattage heater is what is actually desired, but when you're off-grid and needing light, you don't want to be wasting electricity on something you don't want.  Fortunately, these days there are a plethora of lighting options, some of which were not a viable option just five years ago. Our off-grid house had 60W incandescent light bulbs in the four recessed lighting fixtures in the living room.  I'm guessing the previous owner didn't want to pay the higher price for dimmable compact florescent bulbs. Before purchasing dimmable replacement bulbs, I looked at my options.

Incandescent
Not really an option, in my opinion as I'm looking for something more energy efficient.

Halogen
Halogen bulbs use 20% to 30% less electricity for bulbs producing the same amount of light.  Like Incandescent bulbs, halogen bulbs produce full spectrum light, and they are reasonably priced.

Compact Florescent
The standard in energy efficiency, compact florescent bulbs use about one fourth the electricity of incandescent bulbs producing the same amount of light.  While they tend to cost quite a bit more than incandescent bulbs, they last significantly longer and are generally more cost effective in the long run. Some positive aspects of compact florescent bulbs: long-lasting, low power consumption, available in various color temperatures from warm to daylight, and they are available in dimmable models (make sure the packaging mentions the bulb is dimmable, otherwise it is not).  Some negative aspects: compact florescent bulbs contain toxic and hazardous materials (mercury) and must be disposed of properly, many (i.e., most cheaper and/or older) bulbs do not produce full brightness immediately, and dimmable bulbs cost quite a bit more than regular compact florescent bulbs.

LED
LED bulbs strive to be even more efficient than compact florescent bulbs. In reality, I found that the more affordable models (they are much more expensive than compact florescent bulbs) consume about the same amount of electricity as compact florescent bulbs producing the same amount of light. LED bulbs don't contain any toxic or hazardous materials. Until fairly recently, LED lighting tended to be extremely white or too yellow and provided a very unattractive light color for most residential applications, in my opinion. LED lighting manufacturers seem to have figured this problem out, and fortunately many models are dimmable. Generally, LED light bulbs last at least as long as compact florescent bulbs. The major drawback remaining is their price. However, prices are slowly coming down and in a few more years will probably be not much more expensive than compact florescent bulbs.

So what did I get? Since I was looking for efficient bulbs that were dimmable, I went with LED lighting. Because compact florescent bulbs don't produce full brightness immediately, I don't want to have to adjust the brightness again once the bulbs achieve full brightness.  Halogen bulbs didn't give me the increase in efficiency that I was looking for.

How well do they work? They work pretty well with a few caveats. When running off batteries with a modified sine-wave inverter, there are a few problems. The dimming range is significantly reduced. The brightness can be varied only slightly around the bright end.  Dim a little more and the bulbs start blinking. I have a theory as to why this might be, but since I really don't know, I'll just leave it at that. If someone can explain why these bulbs are behaving this way, please make a comment below. I did notice that when the generator is running (which produces a much more conforming sine wave) the dimming works great and I can get the bulbs to go much dimmer before they turn off completely.

The actual bulbs I got were the least expensive LED bulbs I could find at Home Depot that were comparable to a 60 watt incandescent bulb. That particular bulb happened to be an Ecosmart model. It claimed a warm- to bright-white color temperature and that it was dimmable. There was also a model from Philips which cost $5 more per bulb.  I decided to save the $20.

More LED lighting options are becoming available all the time, so try them out!

Incandescent bulbs on the left, LED lights on the right. Notice
the more defined circle of light projected on the floor by the
LED lights. There is a definite cone of light coming from the
LED light vs. the incandescent  bulbs.

Resources
EcoSmart Bulbs from Home Depot: http://www.homedepot.com
Philips Lighting: http://www.lighting.philips.com/us_en/consumer