Fluorescent Lighting

The glow of a fluorescent tube is caused by electric current conducting through mercury gas. Fluorescent lighting is used mainly for indoor lighting. Fluorescent lights need controlling devices, called ballasts, for starting and circuit protection. Ballasts also consume energy.

Fluorescent lights are approximately three to four times as efficient as incandescents, and their lamp life is about ten times greater.

Compact fluorescents (CFLs) are the most significant recent lighting advance for homes. They combine the efficacy of fluorescent lighting with the convenience and universality of incandescent fixtures. Recent advances in CFL design also provide more natural color rendition and less flicker than older designs.

CFLs can replace incandescents roughly three to four times their wattage. When introduced in the early-to-mid 1980s, CFLs were bulky, heavy and too big for many incandescent fixtures. But newer models, with lighter electronic ballasts, are only slightly larger than the incandescents they replace. CFLs screw into incandescent fixtures and save up to 75% of the electricity used by incandescent lamps.

CFLs are continually evolving, however they cannot replace all lighting fixtures. Soon, though...

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