Compact florescent light bulbs have had a makeover and they're being joined on store shelves this fall by new LED bulbs that have no mercury and promise to last for decades.

Consumer Reports has just tested the newest compact fluorescent and LED bulbs on the market and found they're doing a better job of mimicking the light of incandescent bulbs.

The new CFL's also use up to 75 per cent less mercury than bulbs tested just three years ago. But for consumers who want no mercury in their light bulbs, LED bulbs are an environmentally friendly option.

"The LED doesn't have any mercury or lead products inside of them, so as far as disposal down the road you don't have to worry about any damaging products like that in landfills or if the bulb breaks in your house anything like that being exposed to your environment," said Robert Blair of London Drugs.

The LED bulbs claim to last almost 23 years. In comparison, incandescent bulbs only last between 1,000 and 2,000 hours.

"For people who have difficulty changing light bulbs, seniors and so on, there's also that added benefit where it's not as inconvenient for them to continually go up there and change a light bulb," said Dave Woogman of London Drugs.

And unlike CFL's, the LED bulbs also reach full brightness instantly, they're better at dimming and they don't make noise.

"There's no humming sound which was some of the concerns about the CFL's. Some people found in a quiet room you could actually hear the bulb itself," said Blair.

The downside is that not all LED's are good at distributing light, which is not always ideal for reading. And LED bulbs are more expensive, from $20 to $60.

"I think going forward you'll just see more and more selection and hopefully as time goes on you'll see that as they become more popular, then the prices will ultimately come down," said Woogman.

Consumer Reports says you can save $100 or more over the life of a LED bulb compared to an incandescent. But it will take four to ten years to see the cost savings.

It's also important to keep in mind CFL's need to be recycled. Both Home Depot and IKEA will accept old CFL bulbs for recycling. There's also a provincial program called Light Recycle. You can find more by going to BC Hydro's website.

With a report from CTV British Columbia's Lynda Steele