Re: Bit OT. CFLs revisited.


"Arfa Daily" <arfa.daily@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:C_Pdj.29597$yZ4.282@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
I have just returned from a Christmas trip to Vegas, staying in the same
big name Strip-side hotel that I always do. However, since I was last there
a year ago, they seem to have had a big drive to turn the room lighting
over to CFLs. Now, instead of getting a decent light in the room when you
come in the door, it's like someone is going round lighting candles one at
a time. When the rotten things have finally warmed up enough to give out
some light, the room appears dingy and uninviting. Although at first
glance, the colour temperature and CRI look a 'reasonable' match to
incandescent, the light actually has a most unpleasant 'sick' quality to
it.

Above the beds, there are standard 'large format' reflector spots, for
reading. These have now been replaced by lamps with a similar form factor,
but which contain a double spiral CFL element. The light that these
output, again once they have warmed up enough to produce light worth
bothering about, is singularly unsuitable for reading by, and after a
couple of nights, I gave up trying.

Now if this is the level that the technology has reached, and this is the
sort of product that forthcoming government legislation in my country (UK)
and several others I believe, is aiming to force us to accept by banning
sales of incandescents, then I for one, will be stocking up on enough
light bulbs to see my days out ...

Arfa



I find that the light quality from CFLs varies widely, some are junk, some
are quite good. I no longer use any standard incandescent lamps in my house
and haven't in years, I do have a few Halogena lamps in decorative fixtures,
as far as I know, the ban does not apply to those.

I still despise an outright ban on anything of the sort, tax them, fine, but
keep them available. It's not possible to forsee all the niche applications
where they will still be needed.

Of course I recently resurrected a nice old 2 stage vacuum pump and I found
a place that sells tungsten wire so maybe I can just make my own lightbulbs
if it comes to that :)


.

Relevant Pages

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