Compact fluorescent light bulbs
Kasia February 18th, 2008
A few months ago, The Big Seester sent me an article that reported that incandescent light bulbs are going to be phased out, until they are no longer available for purchase in 2012 or so. Maybe it was 2014. I responded with an only slightly facetious crack that I was going to start stocking up now.
She thought that was hilarious. But honestly, I hate CFLs. They look stupid, yes, but that’s not so much why I hate them (I would only hate them for that in my decorative fixtures). I hate them because I find their light depressing.
So she challenged me to try them in, say, my office for a while, and see if I still hated them. The result is a mixed bag. When I first turn them on, they’re sickly and weak and I inwardly curse whoever invented them. By the time they’ve been on 10 minutes or so, their light seems to become more robust (or perhaps I adjust to the pathetic light) , and my only real complaint is that they have a sort of an odd color to the light and the bulbs, which is probably the spectrum of the light.
My question to my readers is this: I keep hearing about full-spectrum CFLs, and CFLs that are supposed to be closer to incandescent lighting in their spectrum. However, if they do in fact exist and are not just an urban myth designed to keep those of us who like our light bright and strong from rebelling in defense of incandescents, then apparently they are not sold at any of the stores I patronize. The Canuck and I went looking for them specifically at a few different stores (local hardware store and K-Mart, at least), and no dice. Anyone have any luck finding these? (And while we’re at it, maybe we could find some that don’t look stupid for my decorative fixtures?)
I did the little DTE Home Analyzer energy assessment, and it congratulated me on using less energy than comparable homes in my area. I’m guessing it’s because my air conditioning is broken and I don’t have a dishwasher. That said, I’d still like to shave down my energy bills; and while I’m at it I might as well start to get used to these confounded CFLs. I’d just like them to be a little less of a penance.
OOH! THAT should’ve been my Lenten penance this year: change all of my light bulbs to CFLs!!! Maybe next year…
