Bright Future for Fluorescent Lighting
For many of us, fluorescent lights have kind of a bad reputation. When we think of fluorescent lighting, we often associate it with the dull, colorless look of a commercial bathroom somewhere. It tends to conjure up thoughts about an old fluorescent light, buzzing endlessly and giving their face a washed out look. In reality, however, fluorescent lighting has come a long way in the last several years. Fluorescent lamps nowadays are not just more efficient than incandescent lighting, but they also rival them for vibrant light as well.
Back in the day, fluorescent lights all used the same approach to creating white light. Rather than creating a broad spectrum that looks natural, a combination of a few different colors was used to make the eye think that it was seeing white light. Although this technique in the fluorescent light was pretty convincing, it also gave things a little bit of a washed out appearance. Nothing would seem bright and vibrant like it did in daylight. The colors were much duller than those from a standard incandescent light.
Nowadays, even fluorescent track lighting has gotten better. Although you can still find the fluorescent light of the old-style, more and more of them are switching to a more naturalistic model of making light. And it does live up to its claims. It doesn’t have that same depressing, bluish pallor to it. Everything looks very bright and natural under it, to a point, and it lights evenly and consistently without that buzzing. Keep in mind though that judging color under fluorescent lights can be deceiving as they will still alter red shades somewhat.
Many people have some pretty stock expectations from florescent light. The first association that most people have is the tube lighting. We’ve all had this in some place that we’ve worked or lived before such as a school, an office, or even a favorite coffee shop or restaurant. Although that style of fluorescent light is still in use, there are many other styles as well. Recent innovations have created many choices for us.
Perhaps most importantly, nowadays you can actually replace the bulbs in your lamps with fluorescent light bulbs. Even a standard lamp can use a small, spiraled fluorescent bulb, that provides very pleasant ambient or focused lighting, while allowing you to start saving energy almost immediately. Although these fluorescent lights do cost a bit more than a normal incandescent bulb, the savings are substantial. They last a lot longer than normal light bulbs, and use up a third as much energy. You can save money in the long run, and feel good about doing your part to help the environment, not to mention your pocketbook.
Category: Going Green