Do you have an old lamp laying around that you like, but can’t find a new efficient CFL or LED bulb to fit? Well, then this article is for you my friend! Forum user Where2 had this same scenario and decided to modify his existing halogen lamp into an LED lamp.
The lamp was one of those halogen floor lamps that were very popular in the 90s. 300W of halogen spewing light (and heat) with a nice little dimmer knob on it. Where2 looked into new floor lamps, but didn’t feel like spending the $40+ on a new lamp when he had something very close to what he wanted already at home.
Instead, he decided to modify the lamp so that it would take a standard LED bulb with a screw base. To do this, he purchased two screw bases at his local home improvement store along with two dimmable 9W LED bulbs (800 lumens each). He removed the old halogen bulb mount, and replaced it with the two screw bases using the same holes that held in the halogen mount. Then, he wired the new bases into the existing lamp wiring. And, then he installed the new LED bulbs in the new bases.
The conversion cost very little. Each screw base cost $3. The rest of the stuff Where2 had on hand (wire, wire nuts, and blade connectors). So, a grand total of $6 was spent on this LED light conversion. The LED bulbs, which would have been needed anyways with a new lamp, cost him $13 each.
Where2 says the dimmable bulbs work good with the dimmer switch on the lamp, and that it provides plenty of light despite the 94% reduction in electricity use! Now, instead of 0-300W of power use its 0-19W. Quite the reduction. And for anyone saying that the new bulbs might not put out enough light, Where2 says that isn’t a problem. His wife uses it as a reading lamp every night and has no complaints.
For more information, you can see Where2’s forum thread.
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