The Most Suitable Long Bulbs for Your Kitchen Lighting Needs

With most of us spending a lot of time in the kitchen cooking, baking, and preparing meals for the family, having suitable long bulbs that provide enough lighting is important. The right long kitchen light bulbs can make all the difference in preventing eye strain as you go about your kitchen tasks.

But with so many options on the market, from LED and fluorescent to incandescent and halogen, how do you determine which long bulbs are optimal for your unique kitchen lighting needs? This comprehensive guide covers everything you need to know.

Benefits of Using Long Kitchen Light Bulbs

Longer light bulbs ranging from 18 to 48 inches or more offer some distinct advantages over standard sized bulbs for kitchen ceiling fixtures and hanging pendant lights.

Better Light Distribution for Elongated Kitchens

For contemporary open concept kitchens and galley style layouts that tend to be longer than they are wide, elongated light bulbs can provide superior wall-to-wall illumination compared to traditional bulbs.

With standard 8 to 12 inch bulbs, you often get uneven coverage resulting in dim spots or shadows, which can make safely navigating the kitchen difficult. Long bulbs cast light evenly across wider distances for consistent coverage across prep and cooking zones.

Increased Brightness with Higher Wattage Options

In addition to greater length, many long tube light bulbs also pack higher wattages ranging from 25 to 100+ watts . This increased power produces brighter light output to handle the demanding visual tasks involved with cooking.

Brighter kitchen bulbs lead to less eye fatigue when working for prolonged periods on reading recipes, chopping ingredients, monitoring food doneness, and other essential kitchen jobs that require excellent visibility.

Enhanced Visibility for Food Prep and Cooking Tasks

Given most kitchen activities like slicing, dicing, washing, and mixing involve coordinating your eyes and hands, ample surrounding brightness is a must. Longer T8, T10, and T12 fluorescent or LED kitchen light bulbs bathe your workspace in vivid illumination so you can tackle recipe instructions, measure ingredients accurately, and maintain safety while operating appliances and kitchen tools.

Greater Flexibility in Fixture and Decor Choices

Standard round or globe-shaped bulbs can look awkwardly small and out of proportion in elongated pendant mount fixtures and overhead linear light bars. Long bulbs fill these fixtures nicely for well-balanced ceiling lighting designs aligned with your personal kitchen decor.

Key Considerations When Selecting Long Kitchen Bulbs

With so many types and styles of emissions saving kitchen light bulbs available from retail stores and online suppliers, it helps narrow down your options by keeping a few important factors in mind.

Beam Angle and Directionalilty

Unlike round bulbs that emit light in all directions, many long cylindrical or tube bulbs distribute illumination across a specific beam angle measured in degrees. Wider 120 to 150-degree beams provide ample spread for general ambient lighting. More focused 20 to 40-degree narrow floods concentrate directional light on kitchen workstations.

Lumens Brightness Level

Lumens indicate the total light output across the stated beam angle. Kitchen tasks typically require bulbs rated from 450 to over 1000+ lumens for adequate visibility. Note that wider beam angles using the same watt bulb produce fewer lumens since light is dispersed over larger areas.

Fixture Socket and Base Compatibility

With linear fixtures, ensure you choose compatible long T5, T8, or T12 fluorescent tubes or LED replacements to match the existing ballast and socket connectors. For screw-in fixtures, select common bases like E26/E27 medium, E12 candelabra, GU10 spot, or bayonet types that fixture housings are designed for.

Color Temperature and CRI Rating

The kelvin scale determines warm white to cool daylight color tones while the CRI rating indicates how accurately bulbs reproduce true colors on the objects they illuminate. Warm 2700 to 3000k incandescent-like lighting flatters skin tones nicely in intimate dining spaces while cool 5000 to 6500k temperatures are better for food prep and cooking tasks.

Top Recommended Long Bulb Types

With a dizzying assortment of lighting choices out there, these bulb varieties stand out as top options for meeting most kitchen illumination needs.

T8 and T12 Fluorescent Tubes

T12 tubes with diameters of 1.5 inches historically served as the industry standard for fluorescent ceiling fixtures. Today narrower and more efficient 1-inch diameter T8 bulbs have largely replaced them while using about 30% less energy on average.

Available lengths span anywhere from 18 to 96 inches for superb coverage across larger kitchens. Choose from warm, cool, natural or true color ( temperature ) with color rendering index (CRI) ratings over 80 for accurate light quality.

LED Linear Tubes

As energy conscious and longer lasting LED technology continues improving, we're seeing more direct tube replacements for fluorescent kitchen lighting. LED tubes emit ultra bright white light while using a fraction of the electricity.

Simply swap out old T8 or T12 bulbs with plug-and-play LED tubes for instant energy savings. Most 12 to 48-inch models work with existing electronic ballasts. Direct wire power-line operated LED variants eliminate the need for ballasts altogether.

Extra Long Halogen Bulbs

You can stretch general kitchen illumination even further with extra long 120 to 150 volt halogen bulbs reaching 100 watts for brilliant intensity. Use them in pendant lights, hanging chandeliers or track fixture systems. Combine with dimmers to control mood and ambience for dining and entertaining.

Edison and Vintage Filament Styles

Recreate the warmth and charm of early 20th century lighting with clear or frosted glass LED edison bulbs. The exposed internal filaments artfully emulate Thomas Edison's original incandescent bulb designs for decorative statement pieces over kitchen islands and peninsulas.

Go big with 24 to 36-inch horizontal and vertical retro lamps or keep them smaller as mini pendants. Let these carbon or LED filament bulbs showcase their intricate glow and detail.

Proper Installation of Long Kitchen Ceiling Bulbs

While screwing A19 LED bulbs into basic fixtures is simple enough, longitudinally shaped light tubes involve a few extra wiring considerations during the installation process for optimal performance and longevity.

Wiring and Ballast Requirements

Fluorescent kitchen lighting relies on compatible ballasts to regulate voltage and current. Instant start electronic ballasts work best with standard F32T8 fluorescent tubes. Make sure to identify corresponding T8 bulb and ballast types to avoid issues.

Direct wire LED linear tubes bypass ballasts completely through line voltage cables and connectors. This allows for full light output since no power gets wasted operating antiquated magnetic ballasts prone to early failure.

Placement Guidelines

Ideally position long LED or fluorescent light tubes directly above peninsulas, kitchen islands, sinks, stoves and other dedicated work areas. Place them at least 12 inches from walls for even perimeter lighting. Allow proper clearance from upper cabinets for open bulb access and ventilation.

Safety Precautions and Protocols

Always turn off power at the circuit breaker before installing or replacing light tubes. Use fiberglass ladder or step stools to safely access recessed fixtures near ceilings. Wear rubber gloves and eye protection when handling CFL and fluorescent bulbs that contain trace amounts of mercury vapor inside.

Follow manufacturer handling directions carefully and recycle old bulbs properly. For direct wire LED fixtures, ensure all exposed voltage terminals and ballast leads are fully insulated with wire nuts and electrical tape during retrofitting.