Saving Money Using Flourescents . Not Just A Dim Flicker Any Longer
Fluorescent lights no longer provide just a dim flicker. Yes they are the green option to incandescent light bulbs, but they can also be interesting and are a favourite of modern designers. So why are they a good green alternative, and what’s so fashionable about them?
Any electrician will tell you that fluorescent lights tend to last four to ten times as long as normal (filament) light bulbs and use approximately 20% of the power. The trouble with normal light bulbs is that 95% of the power they use is lost through heat and merely 5% is literally used to light up a room.
While fluorescent bulbs are more costly to buy at first, they will save you cash in the long run, typically paying for themselves in under a year. And they fit in nearly all existing light fittings, so you won’t even call for an electrician to change your fittings.
Another direct environmental advantage is that since the light bulbs last so much longer they generate less waste for the dump as fewer are being tossed away every year. And once you’re fitting them and doing your bit, you may even feel so green and greenly aware that you take your responsibilities further and turn lights off when they’re not being used.
When you do require to throw away fluorescent light bulbs at that time endeavor and do so correctly. Unlike filament light bulbs, they contain a small amount of mercury which is greenly harmful if they are binned, so ask your local committee about recycling facilities for light bulbs and do your part to keep them out of landfill.
Now for the fun part! Fluorescent lights are wonderful if you want to create a colour wash on the wall or against curtains. They may be recessed so that the luminosity seems to come magically from a hidden supply and if the light shines against a reflective facade, you can make a really dramatic effect. You can also talk to your electrician about installing more than one fluorescent tube so that you have a choice of colours at your fingertips.
FL lights of course come in white but also four basic colours – red, yellow, green and blue. If none of these go well with your scheme, you may put a white light behind a coloured filter of your choice or even get coloured theatrical lighting goo which can be practical to the bulb to achieve the effect you’re after. There are even companies that sell bulbs previously coated, offering a range of colours if you can’t face doing it yourself.
If you’re putting together a lighting design bear in mind that fl white light tends to look cool instead of than warm. FL bulbs can be included into a dimmer system when of course they become less bright, but they won’t produce a warm glow like a normal bulb. As well as being put onto dimmers your electrician could go one step further and incorporate them into a system of pre-set scenes to create several mood options for your room.
The reality is that in 2007 the US Government announced that normal light bulbs are to be banned by 2011, which should help save around 5 million tonnes of CO2 by US household users alone. So it makes sense to get ready now for this new era in lighting. Light bulbs in the US are now graded A-G for ecological effectiveness, so it’s easy to pick ones that do less harm and that will save you money in the mid and long term. And it doesn’t mean living in darkness – fluorescent lights have come a long way since their flickering early stages.
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