Compact Fluorescent Lamps, or CFLs for short, have change a lot in recent years. While the energy savings was unquestionable, the quality of the light coming off a CFL cast a shadow on their practical use, especially for areas where a crisp bright lighting was needed
Compact Fluorescent Lights are now available in a wide range of light colors and styles to suit different living environments and task needs. Here are a few tips to guide you to the light when shopping for new CFLs:
- Look for the Energy Star label. All CFLs are not created equal and Energy Star qualified CFLs use around 75 percent less energy than standard incandescent and last up to 10 times longer. You’ll also save $30 or more in electricity costs over each bulb’s lifetime, and they’ll give off 75 percent less heat for a safer, cooler glow.
Compact Fluorescent Lights are labeled with a description of the light style and color they provide, from “soft white” to “daylight.” A bulb’s correlated color temperature (CCT), measured in kelvins, will also tell you what to expect. Lower numbers such as 2700K mean light will have a warmer, yellowish cast, while higher numbers like 5000K indicate the lighting quality on the cooler, more bluish end of the spectrum.- Match a CFL’s amount of light output to that of the incandescent you’re replacing. Packaging should indicate the incandescent equivalent (e.g., “60 Watt Replacement”), but you can also reference the lumen rating, a common notation on both CFL and incandescent packaging. The lumens will be higher when the light output is greater.
- When replacing Compact Fluorescent Lights in a room, select bulbs of the same color and brand for a more consistent lighting quality throughout the space. Sylvania‘s Living Spaces CFL collection, for example, includes bulbs in a range of wattage levels and sizes (including a micro-mini twist, the smallest on the market) that share the same warm, color-enhancing light output.
I have purchased several different types of CFLs, with different light outputs. I have yet to find any that give the amount of light claimed when compared to the incandescent they are to replace. Nearly everyone that I know who have used the new bulbs have said “I hate them”. Even those with higher lumens still do not provide enough light for reading, etc. I would be happy to use these lights, but they are of no value if you can’t get enough light. Also, what about CDLs being used with dimmers? I don’t think they work with them.
Listen America…CFL are not the end all be all there touted to be. They are know to cause fading of your furniture and art work ect… Let’s also not forget about the Mercury thats in them. Who actually knows how to dispose of them? Do you??? Also, they’re only made in China, again leaving our own Manufactures out in the cold. EPA regulates our manufactures but, we import what we can’t make here because of the danger and risk to our people. Think about it.