[Growster...]

We don't mind having the ultra-bright bulbs where they matter, but for reading, we'd prefer to have something 'duskier', and not so hard on the brightness.

We tried some 'warm' bulbs but they're still a bit stark, so does anyone know where to get a decent reading bulb, preferably with an amber tinge or similar? Ebay have several descriptions, but the last lot from them were like a scene from Piccadilly Circus, even though they said they were 'soft'!

I always look a bit of a pillock wearing sun-glasses in the house...

[WeavingGryphon]

Totally agree with you here. Husband stripped out most of the bulbs when we moved in for yellow LED ones.

They have a colour rating on the back from yellow like a nice cosy candle to white like a fairly large star

.
We don't use the big light in most rooms as well and use uplighters. Even in the hall.

[Goosegirl]

Er, no! I can't tolerate those blue-white LED bulbs even at the annual festive time, so have a Groogle to see if you can find any info on there that might help.

I've just found this so see what you think.
https://www.familyhandyman.com/smart-homeowner/energy-saving-tips/light-bulb-guide-how-to-choose-led-bulbs/
With all this dismal weather, if you're seen with your sunshades on someone will report you and then the men in the white coats will knock on your door with a strait-jacket and we don't want that do we! 

[Growster...]

Thank you, WG and GG!

I've never noticed a 'yellow' one, and hadn't thought much about lumens either...

A bit of grease-proof paper sellotaped to the shade sometimes works, but looks ridiculous!

[Wellington]

I have recently bought a load of new wifi enabled led bulbs, which allow you to choose how yellow/blue they are. I love them (even though I have them ALL turned right up to maximum yellow. I like a warm light). The best ones are Lohas, imho, although I like the smart life ones well enough. I can look up exactly which ones if it’s something you're interested in. They work with alexa/Siri/googleA but work fine through the switch and their own app if you don’t want to yell at them all the time (I like things that do as they are told. It’s such a novelty in my life!)

[Growster...]

Wellington, they're great! Thank you for that!

More research needed now!

A daughter often works abroad, and told me that she has some kit which lets her turn on her home heating, lights etc, all from her phone, even when she's 12,000 miles away...

I must be getting old..:0(

[Wellington]

Mine is set up so that the heating goes off when I (well, my phone) leaves the house and comes back on when it returns.  I got it so that I could control the heating my rooms separately because I am home all day but can only be in one room at a time. I can also ask her majesty (as Alexa is known in this house when we are talking about her and not to her) to turn it up or down if required. I also have all the lights on timers to dim when the girl child needs to go to bed, and Alexa her nags her about homework, teeth and so on (while telling random, awful jokes which being 9 she thinks are hilarious)

I have both Lumiman and Lohas bulbs, and on reflection, there is nothing to choose between them. You can change the colour temperature on both, and the colours on the Lohas ones, too (it’s more expensive to get colour changing bulbs, but they all seem to have colour temperature settings. I bought them for doing special effects at Halloween, which was fun) I’ve slightly had more problems connecting to Alexa with the Lohas ones, but no problems at all controlling them from their own app. Alexa is having a bit of a strop, just at the moment.

[DanielCoffey]

I know we are not allowed to mention specific shops but some LED bulb makers produce "extra-warm white" bulbs designed to give a softer and more traditional colour. Some of them are even dimmable but they are not colour changing. Crompton are a good LED brand and it is widely stocked in the UK.

Check the fitting you need as some are bayonet and some are either regular or small Edison screw.

Dimmable costs a little more than standard. Colour changing costs even more and "internet enabled" is the most expensive!

[WeavingGryphon]

I got it so that I could control the heating my rooms separately

This house came with one of those, but it acts through a panel on the wall. We hate it, it's a total nightmare.

It swapped into Fahrenheit one day for no reason and wouldn't go back to Celsius, so we had to look at the fish tank temperature regulator to figure out what it was set to. As well as tell it what we wanted. Even then we think it lied. It warms whatever rooms it feels like not what rooms we want. You can programme it and we tried several times but the settings wandered around, entered and exited so we never got the impression our directions stuck, because it needs to get to the end of the set up process for that. We've fallen back onto the heating being on or off and hoping that adjusting the dial on the radiators will determine something. It doesn't particularly.

The livingroom is boiling hot while the bedrooms upstairs are freezing and your breath is actually condensing. The boiler is in one of them so you'd think that room would manage to be warm, but even when that bedroom radiator is set to 5 and the livingroom downstairs to 1 it still won't warm. the bedrooms are cold and the livingroom is boiling. But the next night, the bedroom is baking hot even when you don't touch anything other than off or on. Sometimes we switch the livingroom off so your frozen downstairs and it warms upstairs but then you can't breathe upstairs it is so hot.

The screen went blank last year so we have no idea what is happening. But as you can tell we had no idea beforehand so we ignore the accursed thing. I liked having the dial on the boiler that you pushed in or pulled out little buttons that told it what time it was to be on/off. With another button to tell it to come on if it's freezing.

[Wellington]

Those are the sorts of reasons I had mine put it. This house is over-specced with radiators upstairs, and under for downstairs. So the bedroom is crazy hot (which I hate) and the sitting room has a decommissioned gas fire with active vents that produce a howling gale. Oh, and a fancy chrome upright radiator that is fine on the fancy chrome part, but sucks at radiating, so is always freezing. I hated it. Now I can have a lovely cool bedroom for sleeping, and then warm it up rapidly when it’s time to get up.  The sitting room is lovely to, um, sit in. And I don’t have to keep a jumper on the stairs anymore. I still need a new radiator in the sitting room, when I get the plumber in to take care of a few other bits. I haven’t had it long, but it’s much better than it was.

[grinling]

light is measured in lumens,uk slow at catching on.
Depends if you want warm,yellow,or cool,blue. Hotter countries use blue, cooler use yellow
Also depends on light switches,only use dimmable bulbs with dimmer switches.
Depends on how many bulbs in fitting. I have 4 220led in spotlights. single bulbs even more
We have mainly bought at homebase,special offers.

[Growster...]

I'm still trawling the net, trying to see what to get...

We did, however, buy a dozen small torches for just a few quid, and they're tiny enough to carry in a pocket!

Might be the answer!

[WeavingGryphon]

I'm still trawling the net, trying to see what to get...

We did, however, buy a dozen small torches for just a few quid, and they're tiny enough to carry in a pocket!

Might be the answer!

Headlamps.
Just mind where your looking on the toilet.

[grinling]

https://www.thelightbulb.co.uk/

this company has a very good guide as well as a free return policy

[Growster...]

Thanks Grinling - now a bit more research is on the cards! (If I could find a light, nice enough to read it all..:0)

(As an aside, if JRT is asleep in my chair, being a soft touch, I leave her there and share Mrs Growster's reading light, which makes for 'interesting' proximity..;0)