Dear Mr. Silver,

There are several brands of CFL bulbs. They now come in different color temperature (more yellow, or more blue, or more like daylight). And the brightness do vary on the size/wattage.

One thing to remember is that the base of these CFL bulbs have electronics in them. So its best to keep them where there is enough air circulating or the electronic will burn out. e.g. enclosed light fixture is a big NO NO.

White LED's tend to be rather harsh. Newer ones have color adjusted LED so it gives the familiar incandescent feel but I'm not sure if you can buy those yet.

One of the engineers at the company where I work developed a white LED driver. The thing was so bright it nearly blinded me. You can't plug a white LED into regular outlet without some fireworks.

In terms of conversion efficiency watts of electricity to lumens of light, I'm not sure which is more efficient. LED is definitly more expensive but manufacturers are trying to rate them with 30,000 hr life or more. At the end of life it still gives off 80% of initial light. That was my understanding. 10 years of regular use before having to replace the bulb.

CFL do use toxic mercury. LEDs are far more benign to the environment.

CLF can not be hooked up to a dimmer!! Nor are the first generation of white LED bulbs.

hope this helps,

smilingcat