Energy Saving Lightbulbs

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Does anyone else have a problem with the energy saving lightbulbs?
I put one in my range hood over my stove and it buzzed so loud I could hear it in my bedroom?
Does this happen to anyone else? Does it bother you really bad?

I found that some of the cheap ones actually have a better light color (very unlike that of natural sunlight, that is) that hurts my eyes less.

Sounds like there are some issues with the ballasts on the lighbulbs you're complaining about.

I don't like buzzing in general. I just got a new router because the old one was making this really annoying high-pitched sound that I just couldn't stand.

As far as light bulbs go, I don't like the ones that are too white. I prefer a more yellowish color.

I have tried several different brands in different lights and lamps. They just buzz really loud.

Urchin, what brands do you use? The light is just awful on some of them. Do you notice if they buzz?

In Canada, the Edison bulbs (the standard lightbulb - actually not designed by Edison!) are going to be outlawed from sale in a year or two.

This is not good. I don't like the quality of light from the newfangled ones. They also contain some serious chemicals that are readily airborn if you break them. And which are bad for the environment and for people. The old ones also produce heat - which is bad in summer, but great in cold winters. You might not think they make that much heat, but they do. The new ones - barely any... just enough to be a fire hazard in many cases.

They are also produced overseas. Meaning a loss of local jobs.

I hate these light bulbs. They claim to be as bright as the ones they replace but that is simply not true. Yellow light, and dim light, seriously depress me. I need white, or blue light, as bright as possible, especially in the winter.

I am a recent adopter of the CFL lightbulb. I buy the EcoSmart brand at Home Depot, and they are fantastic (inexpensive too!). The soft white bulbs provide light that I personally think is identical to the old incandescent lights. I've never noticed any noises or buzzing from them.

I am going to get one this weekend and try it.
Thanks for the info Gil!

I also have problems with those light bulbs. I just use the regular ones.

The big ballasts lights that they have at like schools and all that if not taken care off can start to make a annoying noise but the small ones there ballasts are more simple and less prone to making noise like there counterparts are.

Ballast beams unit


CFLs Ballast The capacitor is smaller then in the Big ones.


2 Different CFLs compared incondesent
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I mostly run the CFL bulbs.

THanks for the post, and photos Markitzero, I dont like buzzes from bulbs either, always wanted to know why they did that, Flourescents are being phased out here in some places they are just the worst Hummers......

I too like the blue bulbs they sell in art supply stores, I like the SAD LAMP (Full spectrum light) I have and the tiny christmas tree type lights I hang on the wall not the blinking kind, solar power cheap things u buy for the garden but i use them in the house, i like candles, fiber optics. I think the light from the energy bulbs is awful, i read somewhere if they break the gasses inside are damaging to health how ecco is that?. Oh and I like these really low watt bulbs u can buy tiny bulbs but they fit in lamps, some of them are painted different colours i like blue ones or pale green.

The color and intensity of light is very important in creating my world-within-the-world, so I'm concerned about being forced to accept the new bulbs, which put out a brighter and whiter light than I am used to. Also, I collect unusual and semi-antique lamps, so need a variety of bulb shapes. I notice they now have colored pigtail bulbs, so it may be that by the time the new bulbs are obligatory, I'll have enough choices.

In the meantime, though, I'll have to live nightly with painful white glare from my neighbor's "green" outdoor light fixtures.

CFL bulbs suck. Bad light, sometimes audible noise, radio frequency noise, and some of them fail in a way that burns your house down. They also work over a pretty limited temperature range.

I still prefer to run incandescent bulbs.

By the way, I found this little ~105 year old bulb yesterday in a junk shop. It's completely on the other end of the efficiency spectrum!

Here in California we're starting to get in LED bulbs. They are ultra energy efficient and don't hum. I have thought about replacing the main florescent light in my house with an LED bulb, but I have an LED camping lantern and it gives off real bluish light that's hard to use. I don't hear the hum from florescents, but if I turn on a shortwave radio I can hear the hum on the radio. But I don't listen to SW radio anymore.

I hear the hum from florescent bulbs. It seems that I hear everything, at least around me. I definitely hear things that other people don't (usually if I call attention to it or take them close to the source they can hear it).

That makes work very difficult. Right now, I am on a special project for work (I work for a federal agency) and they have me teleworking to minimize the distractions.

It is great, I am so much more productive. I keep the lights low, it is quiet (except for the refrigerator and occasional outside noises, or if I am cooking) and cool.

Plus, if the computer screen gets to be too much I can stop and walk my dog or read or something.

I can also start early which I like. I am usually working at 4:30 am at home (as opposed to 7:30 when I go into the office).

I also notice that under florescent bulbs, red things are redder, if people have red in their skin (ruddy complexion or a cut or blemish) it is more red. It is like that type of light amplifies the red.

That bothers me. I have red hair and I worry that it will look really red under the light.