“CFL bulbs can trigger migraines, dizziness...”
I don’t believe that. CFLs are just fluorescent bulbs. Ballasts, the frequencies, etc., have been all around us for the last 60 years.
I don’t believe that. CFLs are just fluorescent bulbs.
I agree. I use them and never heard of such a thing from those who use them.
Indeed, wouldn't ALL flourescent tube lights therefore be harmful? Where are the millions of ill office workers over the past several decades??
“I don’t believe that. CFLs are just fluorescent bulbs.”
Sorry, but it’s true. Fluorescent lighting makes me light-headed and dizzy. Don’t know why.
I can hear most CFL’s. That causes a headache, not to mention the flicker-induced eye strain. My husband tried to sneak one into the bathroom light fixture and I had to take it out.
We’re slowly replacing our incandescent bulbs with LED’s. But as an artist, I am very sorry to see the Reveal bulbs disappear.
Only the ones with Electronic ballasts would run at the high frequencies.
Most of the older ballasts are either inductive or capacitive and these operate at the 60hz line frequency
One small quibble. The frequencies used by CFLs are many times the 60 (actually 120) Hz of traditional fluorescents. These higher frequencies (the article says 20-100 KHz) have been around only about as long as CFLs have been in common use--maybe 15 years.
Further comments:
People who are affected by the 120 Hz component of ordinary fluorescents should be much less affected by the much higher firing rate of the CFL, according to neurophysiological models that I know of.
Another factor in fluorescent sensitivity is the color, which is produced by a mixture of phosphors with different emission wavelengths and persistence times. I speculate that there could be a sensitivity to fluorescent light based on the 120 Hz fluctuations not only in intensity, but in color balance. But once again, the CFL runs at such a higher firing rate that any possible neurological optic response should be minimized by a CFL. The overall color temperature issue remains, however, for both the traditional and CFL types.
For CFLs operating at the lower of the quoted frequencies, i.e., 20 KHz, some people may be acoustically affected, giving rise to a subliminal sensitivity to such lights. Then again, the traditional magnetic ballast often hums at a fundamental frequency of 120 Hz, and gives a "buzz:" An audible spectrum rich in harmonics right through the peak sensitivity of the hearing range. I believe that this causes subliminal stress and could also be a factor in sensitivity to traditional fluorescents, along with the often-uncomfortable colors.