Posted on 09/20/2010 7:17:18 AM PDT by yorkie
UK experts have warned that CFL bulbs can trigger migraines, dizziness and loss of focus, as well as increased pain for those with lupus and can cause people with epilepsy to experience symptoms similar to the early stages of a fit.
CFL's operate at high frequency using an electronic switching ballast to chop up the 120 volts -- that's how they are able to use less energy when compared to an old-style incandescent bulb. A typical operating frequency for an electronic ballast would be in the region of 20kHz to 100kHz, a frequency range known to produce adverse effects on one's health.
(Excerpt) Read more at chicagonow.com ...
I presume you have a hightened sense of color. In that case, it's hard to find a good light source (other than your north-facing studio window ≤}B^).
Flourescents are available with high CRI's (Color Rendering Indexes) which are difficult for either incandescents or present-day LEDs to match. But the LEDs are coming down the learning curve on this. I think that a variation of the "Quantum Dot" LED in combination with new phosphors will finally get there.
Popular as it is here on FR to bash CFLs, this article is BS. The author shows she has no idea what she is talking about when she says “CFL’s operate at high frequency using an electronic switching ballast to chop up the 120 volts — that’s how they are able to use less energy when compared to an old-style incandescent bulb,” which is not even close to describing how they work.
frposty is correct. CFLs are (if you buy the good ones) highly refined and miniaturized versions of the familiar linear fluorescent fixtures we’ve seen in workplaces for decades. In fact, due to the resistance to adoption in the home (some legitimate complaint, some luddite whining), the industry has improved the CFL far beyond what we would accept in a linear fixture.
If you do not like CFLs, you don’t have to buy them. Contrary to popular misinformation, the 2007 EISA legislation does not require the purchase of CFLs. It phases out standard incandescent lamps and requires all lamps sold to meet certain energy targets. Halogen lamps meet the bare minimum of these targets, and function similarly to (and nearly as wastefully as) a regular incandescent lamp.
Perhaps it it inappropriate for the Federal government to enact CAFE standards, EISA standards, etc., but we should not blame the technology for a beef with the Feds. The hyperbole is getting pretty thick. This includes the pre-election grandstanding by the congressman from Texas.
The hyperbole is supported by the left. While it looks like the law of unintended consequences, its really about having the hoi polloi naked and freezing in the dark. Remember how hydropower was good, and now it kills fish and is bad? And how wind power was good, and now it kills birds and is bad? It is the same thing with CFLs. They push new technologies to brand the old ones as evil until it starts to look like the technology might work out. Then, suddenly, the new technology is accepted, and must be rebranded as evil. Just wait until they let out that ARSENIC! is used in the production of LEDs. Suddenly, LEDs will be bad too. It is not the technology that is good or bad. It is just the leftist modus operandi to co-opt natural cycles of innovation to push the agenda of control. Don’t be taken in.
Full Disclosure: I work for lighting manufacturer. Feel free to ask anything you like about the various lighting technologies, and I’ll be glad to help you out.
‘Rasmus, your point number 1 was beautifully written - a very concise and clear practical explanation. I’m too long winded to do better. Thank you.
>>You just have to get the right make, since some brands are indeed horrible.<<
I think that’s the key right there.
One disadvantage to CFLs occurs when the electronics in the bulb fail long before the claimed life. The claimed savings in power consumption vs. bulb cost go out the window when the CFL fails prematurely.
In order to save a penny here and there, CFL builders (who are predominantly in China) would skimp on the circuit design and/or the components, resulting on bulbs that would fail long before their claimed lifetimes, due to heat, high average line voltages, and/or transients.
From my own experience, I think that the longevity has gotten better in recent years, however.
>> >>You just have to get the right make, since some brands are indeed horrible.<< <<
>> I think that’s the key right there. <<
Quite so. Consumer Reports placed our private label (for Home Depot) “Ecosmart” brand at the top of the list for the second year running. We’re very pleased, and it is always nice when I can recommend our products based both on personal experience (I use them in my own home) and reputable third party studies.
I did get a kick out of this line from the article: “[After exposure to fluorescent lighting] Their cognitive functions diminish and some have difficulty recalling where they parked their car.”
I knew there was a reason I can never find my car outside of Walmart!
Old-style long-tube fluorescent lights use a different technology that does not involve radio-frequency. But the ballasts used are too bulky to be used inside a light-bulb-sized unit.
I don’t think you get it ... it is the damn govt making choices for us that makes us mad
The range of color in LED lighting is...strange. The “bulbs” I bought last fall are more blue in color and they glow for a while after you turn them off! The chandelier style in the ceiling fan are warmer and look more light frosted incandescent bulbs. I am noticing a lot of improvements in the newer bulbs, and I hope the price comes down, too.
My office does have a north window. In Michigan, however, good lighting is hit and miss! XD
The article didn't say everyone became ill but that some do. Put me in that "some" group. I can't stand to be around those lights. They make me edgy and give me a headache. Yes, I noticed it decades ago and would turn off the lights and just use sunlight at work. Present day, kids and I told hubby not to buy them but he did and put them in the kitchen. We ripped them out the first night.
I have the same issue, they really throw me off.
I can deal with them if there are other light sources (sunlight, regular bulbs) in the room, but straight fluorescent, I can’t deal with them....
Yes, an occasional bulb will burn out early. But on average they last much longer than incandescent bulbs, and they use only about 25 or 30% as much power.
Also, we have a special situation in Vermont. The state subsidizes them, so they cost less than $1 apiece. I’m not a believer in subsidies, but as long as that’s the case—and I’m helping to pay for it with my taxes—I’d might as well take advantage of it.
But even before the subsidy, we were saving money over the long run.
>> I don’t think you get it ... it is the damn govt making choices for us that makes us mad. <<
No, I do get that. I just get irritated at all the hyperobole going around about it. Especially when it gets repeated because people are irritated at the Feds for reducing free choice. Bad information just makes it that much harder for people to make informed decisions.
It is my opinion, and God knows I have too many of them, it is best to discuss what is really at issue, and to make an informed and reasoned argument that it is inappropriate for the federal government to mandate energy efficiency standards.
That is true for me. Don't know why. When I used to work in an office, I'd keep the fluorescent lights off. Keep a desk lamp handy when I needed it.
CFL bulbs
You guys taught me some things about CFLs. Do they (or some of them) operate at a higher frequency than 60 Hz? What’s the advantage of that? Also, isn’t the ballast in a conventional fluorescent light just for startup?
I had the impression that a main drawback of CFLs is that in enclosed fixtures they heat up, which shortens their life.
I wouldn’t dispute any individual’s claim that CFL bulbs bother them. I just haven’t perceived it as a major problem, given the few that seem affected.
Thanks you for explaining WHY I get headaches every time I am near one of those bulbs & try to read near it.
Many people didn’t believe me.
I don’t get headaches very often- never have.
But now, when trying to read under one of those bulbs—instant headache.
Very good informative link, Redux. Thank you.
For those of us who cannot tolerate the CFLs, there is apparently no alternative. By 2014, every household will be required by law to use only CFLs. What do we do?
Also, I imagine the landfills in 25 years from now will be totally toxic.
Many (and I would suggest the majority of modern) CFLs operate at a frequency higher than 60Hz. The advantage of this is that it allows the ballast circuitry to be more compact.
Lower frequencies require bulkier inductive components, while higher frequencies allow smaller inductive components to be used. The drive to have a CFL fit within a standard A-lamp form factor requires small ballast components. This has pushed the industry to adopt higher frequency operation in order to make a more compact Compact Fluorescent Lamp.
Other advantages of high frequency operation is that oscillations above 20,000 Hz are typically beyond the range of human hearing, and much faster than the eye can detect, eliminating the annoying humming and flickering common to early fluorescent and compact fluorescent lamps.
These obvious advantages come at a small sacrifice in efficiency, however, as higher frequency operation is generally slightly less efficient than low frequency operation.
Nevertheless, adopting CFLs throughout your home will take a hefty chunk out of your lighting bill.
It is true that excessive heat may reduce the life of a CFL, and this may occur in some enclosed fixtures However, this is extremely unlikely, as CFLs generate very little waste heat, unlike an incandescent.
The big problem in the U.S. marketplace for all modern lighting technologies is that the American consumer is conditioned to think light output is measured by the energy consumed. When you purchase a 100 Watt incandescent light bulb, the 100 watts is the measure of the energy it uses, and not the amount of light it produces. The unit for measuring light output is the Lumen, the SI measurement for Luminous Flux.
That 100 Watt Light Bulb produces about 1750 Lumens of light. However, a good quality 23 Watt CFL produces the same number of lumens while consuming less than 1/4 the electricity. When you consider that lighting is roughly 1/6 of your electric bill, you’ll save about 4-5% each time the electric bill comes in.
This is just the beginning - the rest of those 100 Watts an incandescent uses have to go somewhere, and they do. They radiate as waste heat, which is why incandescents get so hot. This is a particularly bad deal when you are running your air conditioner, using electricity to cool air you are using electricity to heat for light. So the savings stack up, especially in the summer time.
Of course, if you live in Alaska, and electricity is cheap, energy saving lamps may not make as much sense.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.