Reply #36: I used to think that CFL would be my stepping stone till LED bulbs came down in price

[txlibdem]

but for some applications I guess I'll have to stick with Halogens. Just FYI, they come in all types:
http://www.1000bulbs.com/category/halogen-light-bulbs?g...
... PAR, flood, xenon, MR8, MR11, MR16, Bi-Pin, Bayonet, Festoon and Wedge

I'm thinking of expanding the halogen recessed lights on the roof soffits. They're only in the front now but I'd really like to have them around the entire house. ( ref http://www.homeimprovementhelper.com/roof/roof_parts.ht... )

PS, I was wrong about the lights above the kitchen bar top. They're Philips DuraMax Par 20 floods which claim to have a long life of 1 1/2 years. But if they do last that long it'll be about 8 times longer than any of the CFLs I've tried there. I even tried the ones without the glass and reflective coating (regular spiral). That one lasted the shortest time IIRC about a month.

So it looks like we're both searching for the best bulbs for the various needs in our house.

Just as an aside, here is a side-by-side lightbulb shootout (pardon the pun) pitting an incandescent, an LCD and a $116 C-Crane LED light bulb.
http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2009/02/10/the-light-bul... /
... Surprise! Even at $116 the LED saves you money over the long run compared to incandescents.
... The tester uses 8000 hours and $1.24 for the CFL bulbs -- I've never bought one that cheap nor had it last that long but YMMV.