I have been told by people who have looked at my home recently that my light fixtures looked terrible.  I was a bit surprised, but open to the idea.  When my wife and I built the house in 1998, we installed energy efficient fluorescent lighting fixtures in many places.  It worked well for 10 years, and never entered our mind in the least.  Now, of course, since we are attempting to sell our home, it has come up.

My first question was “Why do people care so much about light fixtures?”  I mean, let’s face it, how often do you really ever look at your lights?  It’s like a good faucet, I’m sure glad it’s there when I need to wash my hands, but I do not spend more than 2 seconds in my life pondering it.  Well, it turns out that fluorescent lighting has quite a negative public image out there, even in today’s high-priced energy environment.  Sure, people want to do what they can to save energy.  But, God forbid, do not make me use a color of light that isn’t burnt orange.  Alright, I admit, that’s a bit of hyperbole there, but still, the fact remains that people want to save, but also want to have the light quality they want–they want to save without sacrificing much.

I bent myself to the will of the people and installed “normal” energy hog lights in my house now.  Shaking my head in wonder as I did it, not wanting to give anyone any reason to not buy my wonderful home.  Still, my message to the world needs to be thus:  Fluorescent lighting is not creepy, it is not scary, it is not all bright, stale, sterile white, either.  It can be warm, inviting, beautiful, and definitely will save you money on your energy bill.  And it does not cost a fortune to recycle it, either.  Depending on your local or state government, like mine in Minnesota, it is free to recycle bulbs when they do expire–which in my case is 10 years from the day I installed them.  I had to recycle them even though they had not burned out in all that time.

Help me understand this, won’t you?  Are you a fluorescent bulb hater?  Do you seem to get headaches when reading or working under fluorescent light?  Do you think they make things look like a hospital?  I have a deep longing to better understand people’s reluctance to embrace what is a resource saving, long lasting, high quality light source.

LED light bulbs are the new buzz in the lighting world these days, and let’s face it, the technology has its intriguing features.  They use about as much energy as the CW television network has viewers–not much!  So, why is everyone installing compact fluorescent bulbs instead?

To answer that question, you’ve got to consider the main drawback of LED bulbs as they exist today: the amount of light produce.  They are excellent for accent lighting, which are lights used for decor, and not for actually lighting up a room.  Until the world’s manufacturers of LED lights can make them good enough to replace the typical 60 watt bulb’s light output, LED’s will not be a realistic alternative to household lighting.

Another issue coming to the forefront in LED light bulbs is how well they are (or aren’t) made.  LED technology should last for decades, and I’ve heard from a few people that there are a lot of cheaper, poorly made models on the U.S. market right now that stop functioning within months instead.  When looking into investing in LED bulbs, treat it the same as you would buying a car–don’t buy one without a major brand name to stand behind the quality.  If you ever DO think about it, imagine a 4 door sedan on a parking lot painted white with black accents and a big bar code on the door?  “It’s the 2009 Generic XT600, now at your local dealer!”  After you’ve considered this, put the no name LED back on the shelf and slowly walk away.  Feel free to shake your head in disgust at what you were about to do.  Wasn’t that a close one?  Aren’t you glad you have an advisor like me to help you out?

I’ve heard an awful lot about how fluorescent light has bad qualities.  “I get headaches under fluorescent light”, “The light is just stark and sterile”, “It looks like a hospital!”, “Fluorescent bulbs taste like chicken”, etc.  I am not here to directly dispute these claims, except maybe the chicken comment.  I would like to suggest, however, that today’s fluorescent lighting is different and better than what we’ve been used to.

Sure, you can still get plenty of fluorescent lights that look harsh and frumpy.  You can also find, if you know how to look, tubes that will provide a soft, warm, yellow/orange light color.  You can find dimmable fluorescent lighting to reduce brightness and lower the risk of getting headaches from the bright light.  Today’s fixtures and ballasts work better, reducing flickering and noise.  And a little known fact about fluorescent light bulbs is you can get them in different CRI ratings.

CRI (Color Rendering Index) is a fancy schmancy number that is used to measure the quality of a light bulb.  Now, you and I both know that this is waaay too much information about something as mundane as fluorescent lights, but what can I say, I didn’t make the system, someone else did that!  Whan you need to know is the higher the CRI, the more colorful and vibrant things will look under the light.  100 is the highest number, and anything over 88 is considered pretty darn good.

So go grab a new fluorescent bulb and give it a big hug (but not too big, you could break the thing for heaven’s sake) and install it in your light fixture.  Next, bask in the glow of heaven’s light.  OK, OK, it’s not quite that good, but it ain’t just whistling dixie, either!

I could go  on and on, but I’ve already lost half of my readers by this point in this blog due to sheer boredom, so I better leave it here.  If you are the one or two people who at this point who are still reading this and want to know more, email me and I’ll expand on this.  =)

 

I was sitting in my family room last night and, as I am sometimes want to do, I glanced up at the light fixtures on the ceiling.  They were lit with a soft, warm, beautiful light that really made the whole scene inviting.  This room is a place my family calls The Lodge, and it has wood floors and ceiling, with a knotty pine bar and light fixtures with ornate tree leaves carved into them.  It’s a place that gives us the feeling that we are in a national park lodge (much like Disney’s Wilderness Lodge Resort or The Old Faithful Inn.) 

I couldn’t help but think how much different it would look and feel if I used energy saving fluorescent lights in there.  I couldn’t bring myself to do it!  As a light bulb fanatic, I certainly use compact fluorescent bulbs in many, many places of my home, but, as is the case in The Lodge, not in all places.  I was immediately sad knowing that in a relatively short while, the federal government demands on light bulb efficiency will make my beautiful Lodge Light Bulbs dissapear.  Instead of ”Let’s find more ways to produce more energy”, it seems we are taking the path of “Too bad, you need to use less energy”.

Ornate chandeliers in grand ballrooms will not be the same.  Dramatic sconces designed for accent lighting will not be the same.  And, much to my chagrin, The Lodge Lights will not be the same.  Who knows, maybe in 30 or 40 years, my kids will be saying “I sure miss the generic and sterile lighting of our old CFL bulbs.  Why are they making me change to these new Fission Bulbs?”  When that happens, I’ll be the one in the corner in my rocking chair with my Service Lighting polo shirt on, drying the tears from my eyes,  muttering about the warm embrace of my “old fashioned” incandescent bulbs.

After viewing this YouTube video, I must say I am considering moving to Congressman Ted Poe’s district myself.  While he does tend to portray the CFL light bulb as a dangerous item, which it is not in my opinion, I found myself just swelling with pride that someone would speak about government controls in this manner.  It was a breath of fresh air.  We need patriots like Mr. Poe in our government.

His main point seems to be this:  Why is the government mandating what type of light bulb we must use, when we are capable of making the choice ourselves?  This sentiment rings true to what I envision our founders felt when they split with the mother country after being told what to do for so long.  We really, really can make our own choices about things like light bulbs on our own, thank you very much!

I am considering starting a light bulb fantasy sports league, since the popularity of these dramatic games is growing by leaps and bounds.  Hey, I don’t want to be left out of the frenzy of fun!  I figure we’d have 4 starters and two bulbs on the bench.  I think 6 teams per league ought to be enough to make it nice and competitive. 

You’ve got your aging veteran and work horse in the 100 watt incandescent a-line bulb, along with his back up, the 75 watt bulb.  Sure they are safe draft picks, but will they provide the energetic burst when you need it?  The first round of picks is sure to be made up of mostly compact fluorescent bulbs, with shiny new technology for long scoring runs.  The most likely MVP candidate is the Sylvania MicroMini, and it’s sure to be in the top 2 or 3 picks overall.  Of course, no fantasy bulb team will be complete without the formidable Metal Halides and Mercury Vapor bulbs.  I thought the Merc’s would be out of light bulbs by now, but like Jerry Rice, they just don’t seem to want to retire.  There’s still some tread on those tires. 

I know, most light bulb fantasy owners will debate the usefulness of having to name a starter each week in the Christmas Bulb category, but we need to cover the whole game, and not just pick and choose.  The C9 bulbs are the biggies, but don’t count out the C7’s and even a string or two of the icicle lights.  They could make up the difference between winning the Light Bowl and just being a also-ran middle of the pack lightie. 

If you want to join in the inaugural league, let me know and I’ll see if there’s a spot left for you.  If you do, make sure to brush up on your light bulb stats and rankings at ServiceLighting.com so we can make this a highly competitive league, despite the fact we are all noobs. =)  This year promises to be ground breaking and packed with action at the Brian Dancer Light Bulb Fantasy League.  Join up now before it’s too late!

Over this last weekend, I installed the new Sylvania MicroMini light bulbs in my home.  I chose to put these bulbs in my basement hallway–an area with no natural daylight.  The first thing I noticed is the way these bulbs come on instantly, with no hesitation at all.  This is especially handy in locations where the bulb is on for only small segments of time.  My hallway is certainly one of those spots. 

The MicroMini comes in at 3,000K on the color temperature scale, meaning it is slightly whiter than a normal incandescent bulb.  For me personally, I really like the whiter (and I perceive a cleaner, more modern) color, but my wife felt that the bulb’s light color made our chosen paint color change to something we didn’t intend it to be.  This is something to consider when you are looking into what CFL bulb is right for you.

The bulbs are smaller than normal CFL bulbs and fit into my slim fixture with ease.  Therein lies the true prize for these light bulbs.  You can now fit compact fluorescent bulbs into any fixture in which you use incandescent bulbs.  Keep in mind, I used the 23 watt version of the Sylvania MicroMini, which is equivelant to a 100 watt light output–and it still fit with no problem.

In the end, I think Sylvania has a hit here.  These bulbs are a significant improvement on the older generation CFL bulbs, and I recommend trying them for yourself.

Why is the public in the U.S.A. so willing to support government limitations on light bulbs?  Somehow, we have gone from “The Land of the Free” to a society that bans many expressions of personal choice in everyday life. 

Don’t get me wrong, I realize it is WISE to use energy efficient lighting, that is it WISE to use compact fluorescents and LED bulbs.  What I do not like is being forced into ”wisdom” by my government.  Let’s get out of the habit to outright ban things that may not be wise and get back to being the Land of the Free, with libery and justice for all.

[diatribe ends here =) ]

I was walking through the Home Depot recently and found the section on compact fluorescent light bulbs.  They had a nice variety, considering they are a store that does not specialize in anything.  I noticed some very nice pricing, which reminded me of all the times I would be talking to people on the phone here at Service Lighting and listening to them talk about bulbs like these.

“I bought a pack of eight bulbs for $10, but when I got them home, two bulbs didn’t work out of the package, and the light quality of the ones that did work was horrible.”  This represents the majority of feedback I personally experienced from customers here.  I was kind of surprised at first, since I could not figure out in my mind how a company could really mess this up.  I mean, you’re going through the trouble of making the bulb, shipping it accross the Atlantic Ocean, and marketing it, why not do it right? 

In the end, as in most things, you get what you pay for.  I cannot, in good concience, recommend buying the super cheap mega packs of CFL bulbs from your local Wal-Mart or Home Depot.  Stick with the best brand names, and you’re going to get long life bulbs, great, high quality color, and reliability.  Sylvania, Westinghouse, Philips, and GE are the top of the line.  TCP, EiKO, and Litetronics are lesser known brands I have personal experience with and I can vouch for their quality as well.  In my experience, I recommend avoiding the Feit brand name, as well as bulbs that have no brand name.  This is based on what I have heard many, many times working day-in and day-out at Service Lighting.

Compact Fluorescent twist bulbs are getting less expensive all the time, but don’t make the mistake of choosing a clearly inferior product that you may not be happy with at all. 

It’s easy to convince people to buy a smaller car today.  I think it simply makes sense.  If your overall spending on gas each month is $400 with your current vehicle, then it stands to reason that you’d pay $200 per month if you chose to use a vehicle that gets twice as many miles-per-gallon (MPG).

Energy efficient lighting is like using a 80 MPG vehicle instead of the 20 MPG you currently have.  You will definitely spend less money installing compact fluorescent light bulbs instead of incandescent bulbs.  A lot less.  As a result of this change, you will also be helping to keep the country’s air clean by reducing demand for electricity.  You will be able to help yourself and the environment in one action.

Some old truths about CFL light bulbs have been put to rest with new developments.  One of the big issues was that the color of the light produced by fluorescent light bulbs was cold or stark.  These days, CFL’s can be found in all light colors, from very warm white to bluish white daylight models.  Another concern in the past was that the bulbs were huge and could not fit in many normal fixtures.   The size of newer bulb models has been drastically reduced.  Sylvania’s new MicroMini light bulb is actually smaller than a normal incandescent bulb, and will fit anywhere a normal bulb fits.

Also keep in mind that compact fluorescent lighting is much cooler than standard lighting, which will help you keep your air conditioning costs down, thus saving you even more energy and money.

In the future, LED technology will prevail.  New breakthroughs are being made all the time.  For now, your best option for going green in your home or business lighting is using compact fluorescent light bulbs.  Give them a try, and I think you’ll realize that this is one of the easiest ways to help the environment and save money on energy.

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