[M.D. Holloway]

Lowes will take them back without questions. I have seen people bring things back that have been used and abused and they get credit as long as you have the receipt (sometimes you don't even need that).

They most likely will not resell them - more like pitch them even it they are fine. There is no way of telling what happened to them after the box was open.

If you want to compare your incandescent now to a fluorescent then you should look to compare performance:

Look at Luminance - measured in candelas per meters squared or candelas per feet squared is the measurement of the ratio of the intensity of light produced by a surface by a surface in a given direction to a projected area of the emitting surface.

Luminous Flux - measured in Lumens, it is the amount of light generated without regard to the direction of the light beam.

Candlepower - measured in Candelas (cd) measures of the intensity of the light source in a given direction.

Illuminance - measurement of the amount of light calculated by dividing the number of lumens by the surface area. Illuminance can also be calculated by the candlepower of the light divided by the square of the linear distance between the two points multiplied by the cosine of the angle between the light source and the normal surface. If the area or distance is measured in square feet the metric is Lux. If the distance is measured in square meters the metric is Footcandles. There are 10.16 Lux per 1 Footcandle. This measurement is a common standard of light quality.

Equivalent Sphere Illuminance (ESI) - measurement of how visible something is with a specific light source compared to the light generated by a uniform hemisphere light standard. This metric is often used when comparing various light sources. Computer programs are required for this measurement due to the complexity of the calculations involved.

Relative Visual Performance (RVP) - measurements which describes the potential of performing a visual task accurately under a very specific set of criteria. The measurement is expressed in percentage that predicts the probability of successfully performing a task where speed and accuracy are the performance metric. The users age, the reflectance characteristics, distribution of the light, viewing location, and orientation.

Visual Comfort Probability (VCP) - measurement in percentage of the relative brightness according to a specific angle resulting in the likelihood that the light source will provide comfort to the viewer. The baseline data is derived from lensed fluorescent lamps. Extrapolation of data for other systems can provide spurious results.

Exitance - the measurement, expressed in Lumens per unit surface of the total quality of light emitted, reflected and transmitted through a surface.

Although these terms may seem somewhat confusing they are nonetheless very important parameters when defining a specification for lighting.



Is it unethical? I guess that is for you to decide.