| Curly Lights are Pretty |
| Written by Dave Burdick | ||
| Saturday, 14 April 2007 | ||
Popular Mechanics has finally done an in-depth, easy-to-understand, practical study of the Canadian Football League. No, hang on. The other CFL. Right. Compact fluorescent lightbulbs. Thrilling! No, really! They've gone and looked at the bulbs through the lens of the non-ecogeek; they place a great deal of emphasis on quality of light. And, perhaps to the dismay of people who have pushed off switching to the bulbs that use a third less energy than those clunky old incandescents, the study finds that the incadescent bulb is near the bottom of the list in light quality, distorting colors more than CFLs. Let's cut to the chase: The results surprised us. Even though the incandescent bulb measured slightly brighter than the equivalent CFLs, our subjects didn't see any dramatic difference in brightness. And here was the real shocker: When it came to the overall quality of the light, all the CFLs scored higher than our incandescent control bulb. In other words, the new fluorescent bulbs aren't just better for both your wallet and the environment, they produce better light.So maybe Canadian football has a chance after all, you know?
Comments
(12)
I've never been so excited...
written by Tom Konrad , April 15, 2007
...about football. Canadian or otherwise.
I see the light (groan)
written by Janis Mara , April 15, 2007 Okay, I'm sorry - somebody had to say it. Anyway, I've been hesitating over getting compact flourescents because I have read on various blogs that the color is not always great and various factors like length of life vary wildly. So, heartfelt thanks for publishing this link. I'm gonna cruise over to trusty Popular Mechanics and let them guide me to the right choice. Janis Mara www.ecotality.com
link between skin cancer and CFLs?
written by Cpt_Nemo , April 17, 2007
I don't know about you but I have decided to keep my incandescent bulbs. I have a feeling - don't know if there is research to support it - that the increasing levels of skin cancer could be related to the use of fluoresecnt lighting.
The reason I believe this is that human skin would have adapted to the spectrum profile of natural lighting, from the sun, but would not be adapted to that produced by flourescent lighting. You may be aware that the bulbs create UV light that is used to excite the phosphorus coating to produce what the human eye perceives as visible light. Another factor in my decision not to buy them stems from the fact that they contain mercury and hence cause a disposal burden for future generations So I am waiting with my incandescent bulbs until the price of LEDs is low enough to provide lighting for my entire house. BTW: I would also paint my house in a checkerboard pattern of photoluminescent squares to accompany the LED lighting so that I have a low level of lighting when the lights are turned off 
fluorescent light bulbs
written by melissaaa..... , April 26, 2007
I'm doing my project at school about comparing fluorescent and incandescent (or iridescent)light bulbs. In all my research I haven't found that skin cancer could be coming from fluorescent light bulbs
 ... so here's the thing: overall, which is better?? fluorescent? iridescent? also, how much money is the fluorescent light bulb?? a response from anyone very soon would be great. OK thanks bye
bobby
written by bobby , May 11, 2007
bobby is my name and being bobby is my game
Article on flourescents
written by KC , May 16, 2007
I just read an article about the Mercury in CFLs (see: http://www.thenewsroom.com/det...al?c_id=kc), and I really don't know what's better at this point. The debate rages on.
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written by danny , June 30, 2007
anyone wanting to dim there lights at home better stick with incandecent or halogens because you cant dim a florescent.
Dimmers are bad
written by Katie , September 20, 2007
With any kind of bulb. They are very wasteful:http://www.treehugger.com/file...itches.php
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written by Debbie , February 20, 2008
I have lupus. I was at an evening concert where all the overhead lights (all open) had been replaced by florescent bulbs. At the end of the concert I went to the bathroom and saw that I was red except on my face where I wear sunscreen in my makeup. 4 days later and it's still tender. Lupus is a disease that can be exacerbated by UV rays. This is a life changing problem. I don't want to live my life in a home that could kill me.
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written by chester , March 04, 2008
bobby likes boys
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written by Tracey , May 01, 2008
Hi there. I'm a specialist dermatology nurse, and just wanted to put people's minds at rest. It's not the UV in lightbulbs that will give you the skin cancer - this is very little in comparison with the UV coming from that big hot ball thing in the sky. The reasons skin cancers are on the increase are: more access to hot holidays in far-flung places for pasty white people who don't have the natural protection that darker skins afford; the effect of sun time, particularly relevant in some forms of skin cancer - we see a lot of basal cell carcinomas in older ex-forces men who were stationed in the Far East in their youth, for example; the fairly new tendency to spend 2 weeks a year frying yourself to a crisp in the sun; and the lack of sunsense until pretty recently (and not always then).
I also have lupus, but so far no reaction to UV - natural or otherwise. But I am aware that there's a whole host of other photosensitive conditions that will struggle with this level of UV in their homes. I applauded the announcment by the UK Government re: phasing out incandescent light bulbs, but now I'm not so sure.
...
written by Komet , July 04, 2008
honestly, I thought the new curly florescent bulbs had a much longer longevity than the incandescent ones
I converted a year ago & alrealy lost 2 out of the 3 I bought am very disappointed in this new product  | ||
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