Columnist Muriel Stevens: Some tips on choosing right lights

Wednesday, May 23, 2001 | 8:16 a.m.

Muriel Stevens' shopping column appears Wednesdays. Her dining column appears Fridays. Reach her at 259-4080 or muriel@lasvegassun.com.

With power bills soaring, now is the time to consider options other than using incandescent light bulbs. Save electricity and money by replacing regular light bulbs with fluorescent bulbs.

These bulbs have been around for some time, but have been redesigned and come in many styles and shapes. They were also much more costly than they are now. I paid $27 for my first bulb, but it was not as attractive as the new ones.

The new bulbs are much smaller -- at least the design that I purchased. It's a GE energy-saving, 15-watt bulb (equal to 60 watts in a normal bulb). It cost $12.96 and is guaranteed to last eight years

The initial outlay is justified by the long life of these bulbs -- anywhere from 5-8 years. I saved the package it came in, marked it with the date of purchase and taped it to the cash register receipt just in case I needed it.

Demand is so high for these kilowatt and moolah savers they're not easy to find. One discount store had a huge space allotted to them, but except for the smaller-wattage bulbs the wall was empty. The same was true at Target and at House 2 Home. So I turned to an old reliable lighting source: State Wide Lighting on East Sahara Avenue (732-7808).

It, too, only had the 15-watt (or 60 watts in a normal bulb) and 45-watt (75 watts normally) bulbs, but it can order anything not in stock. Most stores carry GE; State Wide sells Panasonic and will soon have additional brands. Prices are less, starting at $5.

Depending on the kilowatt rate (ours is $6.66 per hour), a single 15-watt bulb can save a consumer as much as much as $35 per year. The more bulbs replaced, the higher the savings. Savings on the higher-watt bulbs are slightly less.

I'm thinking of replacing some of the high heat-producing vanity bulbs in the bathroom with these low-heat bulbs. Don't know if it will work, but it's worth a try.

I also checked out quartz bulbs, but the caveats were so many I decided not to try them. The fluorescent bulbs screw in like regular bulbs and do not have any warnings on the package. That's my kind of bulb.

Father's Day: El Portal luggage and gift stores are offering a number of big-bucks limited-edition gifts for Dad, as well as many affordable, but nifty, gifts.

For golfer dads, how about a handmade leather golf bag ($995) or an Oakley Limited Edition Timebomb Gold Watch (only 50 available), the same kind worn by Michael Jordan -- his is number 23, the same as his uniform number with the Chicago Bulls. The price for such exclusivity -- $25,000. A Jorg Hysek fountain pen with its own glass inkwell is $795.

For everyone's budget: a Lodis black-leather Palm Pilot case that also holds a cell phone ($68) or a Swiss Army leather key fob that holds a small red knife and a red night light ($45). For a new dad Kipling makes a line of baby accessories rugged enough for any macho dad -- a backpack child carrier in navy blue ($140) and a backpack diaper bag in black, navy or red ($125). Dad can chronicle his adventures in a handsome gold-edged, leather-bound travel journal ($45) and keep track of time with an infinity travel clock ($18.95).

More ideas for Father's Day coming up soon.