E14 (SES) Bulbs

How to tell an E14 fitting

An E14 cap is a screw thread 14 millimetres across, about the width of a little finger. It screws clockwise into the lampholder like the larger E27, and the two are easy to confuse until they are side by side, when the E14 is plainly about half the width. The bayonet equivalent is B15, the small bayonet, which pushes in and twists on two pins and is a different fitting despite suiting the same kinds of light. The letters printed on the old bulb's base are the quickest answer.

SES, E14 and Small Edison Screw are one fitting

Like its larger sibling, this cap has more than one name. SES stands for Small Edison Screw and E14 is the metric name; packaging uses either. An SES bulb fits an E14 lampholder and the other way round. The even smaller E10 cap, found in some torches and fairy lights, is not the same and will not fit.

Candle and golf ball, and why these shapes

E14 is dominated by two shapes because of the fittings it goes in. A candle bulb has a tapered tip that echoes a flame and sits naturally in a chandelier arm or a wall sconce, where the bulb is often visible. A golf ball bulb is small and round and suits shallow shades and fittings where a candle would look too tall. Both are compact enough for the tight glass shades that many E14 fittings use. Measure the space inside a small shade before choosing, because a bulb that touches the glass runs hot and can shorten its life.

Standard LED or filament

In a chandelier or a wall light the bulb is usually on show, which is why filament LEDs are so common in this cap. They copy the look of the old clear candle bulbs, thin glowing strands and all, and they are LEDs underneath. A standard opal LED spreads the light more evenly and is the better choice under a fabric shade, where the look of the bulb does not matter and even light does. In a chandelier with several arms, matching every bulb is what makes the fitting look finished.

Warm white, cool white or daylight

Most E14 bulbs go into decorative fittings in living rooms, dining rooms and bedrooms, which is why warm white is the usual choice. It is closest to the light of an old candle bulb and flatters a room at night. Cool white suits a kitchen wall light or a hallway. Daylight is the bluest and is rarely right in a decorative fitting, though it earns its place on a workbench lamp. Whatever you choose, keep it the same across a single fitting: one cool bulb among warm ones in a chandelier is obvious from across the room.

Brightness and dimming

Candle fittings with many arms can add up to a surprising amount of light, so shop by lumens and multiply by the number of arms before assuming a fitting needs bright bulbs. A chandelier on a dimmer needs every bulb marked dimmable, and it is worth checking the dimmer too: older dimmers built for incandescent loads can flicker with LEDs even when the bulbs are dimmable. A modern trailing-edge dimmer is the reliable pairing. On an ordinary switch, a dimmable bulb works perfectly well and simply never uses the feature.

Replacing old candle and golf ball bulbs

Most E14 bulbs being replaced now are old incandescent candles of 25 or 40 watts, or small halogens. An LED replacement gives the same light for a fraction of the power, and it runs far cooler, which matters in a small glass shade that used to get too hot to touch. Match the lumens of the bulb you are taking out, and match the shape as well: a candle fitting designed around a tapered bulb looks unfinished with a round one in it. If the fitting has a clear glass shade, a filament LED keeps the look of the original. If it has a frosted or fabric shade, a standard opal LED gives smoother light and the bulb itself will not be seen. Where a chandelier has lost one of a matching set, replacing all the bulbs at once avoids a single odd colour.