Compact flourescent lights

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Yes I can hear them, though they are worse when the ballast has gone. Most household electronic devices make noise.

Those of you having "flicker" problems with the flourescents, try putting half of them in one way and the other half in the other way. Just look for the label on the end of the bulb, put one in with that label to the left. Put the next one in with that label to the right. If those two bulbs are in the same fixture, that means one is on when the other is off. Cuts down much on the flicker problem.

Pops

I hope not literally! Those things are toxic.



I hope they get LED lights that work in normal fixtures at some point I also hope they can get transitioned over to LED lighting in LCD TVs and monitors soon. At least I ASSUME LEDs are a lot less dangerous and obnoxious.



I'm not sure what I'm going to do when they ban them in 2012 I guess it is. Maybe buy a bunch of crates of incandescents or something? Or hope there are LED lights by then?

On top of the Mercury, florescent lights emit UV A and B radiation. UV is actually what they produce, and when it hits the coating on the inside most of it gets transformed into visible light. Most, but not all (and none of the other one, whichever it is a or b).

I love CFLs, they don't bother me one bit. I've never noticed any flickering with them.

If you can 'sense' them, it might be electro-magnetic radiation from the digital ballast. By holding a radio antenna up close you might even be able to pick up their signal.

Older tubes 'buzz' loudly because the ballasts are magnetic rather than digital.

Yes, but that's mercury released into the atmosphere, not into the enclosed environment in which you live, sleep, breathe, eat... Did you know that if they shatter you're meant to evacuate for at least 15 minutes, then use a wet cloth to pick up what you can, don't turn the vaccuum on for at least 24 hours, and get in touch with local toxic waste disposal people to sort the rest out? Nice.


I get headaches from fluorescents; normal ones give me major headaches and I can see them flicker. These usually aren't as bad, but the light stresses me out.

When they ban them I'll be buying huge crates. I'm hoping appeals from the epilepsy foundation will be listened to and they'll allow sales of some for people who require normal bulbs.

I hate them, but it has less to do with the mercury content and more to do with the fact they're too freakin' bright.

Mercuy is secondary to my discomfort.

I've heard that some of them are better than others, but I haven't seen any of the new ones yet, so I don't know. I might have to invest in LED bulbs (even though they're not as bright) if they're not.

I like CFLs.

You can get them in similar color temperatures as an incandescent bulb. I can't hear them buzz or hum. They also don't visibly flicker to me, and I suffer no ill effects from them. They use about a sixth of the energy of an incandescent of similar brightness.

As far as the mercury content goes, in the US the law is that a lighting fixture (i.e. single light bulb, fluorescent tube, CFL, high-intensity discharge) may contain no more than five grams of mercury. And if they're disposed of properly, there's no environmental hazard. I think the mercury can even be recovered and reused, but I could be wrong.

EDIT: Even magnetic ballast fluorescents (the older tube type typically found in non-residential buildings and which sometimes buzz) usually don't if they're in good condition or the tubes aren't dying. I'm sitting almost directly under a magnetic ballast fluorescent fixture right now that has 9-year-old tubes in it (granted, they're infrequently used) and it's not buzzing at all. In fact the only sounds I hear at the moment are the computer fan, the keyboard, and the refrigerator

There was only one fluorescent light that bothered me... the one in my bathroom.. other than that, I don't mind fluorescents in most places (I don't have problems in stores or what have you). Granted, since I spend 90% of my leisure time on the computer, flickering may not be such a problem to me...

I've probably got more mercury in my teeth than the average light bulb. Probably even more than there is in my 400W UV cannon bulb.

5 grams?

i hope you missed a few decimal points there!

Mercury factor aside. To me they are dull compared to each ones equivilant to regular light bulbs (75 watts, etc) I don't find how this saves money as I end up using 4X more lamps pet CFL.