I have changed almost all my bulbs, except for the ones my wife uses to sew and put makeup on and paint with. The cost of true color bulbs is out of sight.
2007-02-22 13:07:22 · 7 answers · asked by stephen c 1 in Environment
Compact fluorescents are horrible. Regular old-fashioned fluorescents have room for carefully-colored phosphor paint, but the tiny tube in a CFL has room for only a small amount, and to get lots of light out of that small amount they have to really drive it. If it's not the heavy-duty sort, it'll burn out. But heavy-duty phosphor gives a crummy spectrum.
Some solutions: (1) don't be bullied by fools (2) check the GE CFL's that Wal-Mart sells; they're considerably better than even a few months ago. (3) check other sources for those 'true color' lamps; Harbor Freight Tools had them at one point, and I suspect that the market will break open whether JoAnn Fabrics likes it or not. (4) Know that compact fluorescents age, and as they do they'll take maybe thirty seconds to come up to their full brightness, which makes you think you're going blind at first. (5) if you're serious about low-cost lighting, use four-foot fluorescent tubes. Electronic ballasts are pretty good and about as cheap as the electromagnetic kind now, so get fixtures with those.
2007-02-22 13:17:15 · answer #1 · answered by 2n2222 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
In the first place, they don't turn everything green. Only some things. Watch out for those generalities.
They do make different fluorescent bulbs with different color shading. I assume that your question is really "why are they so expensive?" The answer is that they require more expensive materials, and there is a smaller demand for them.
2007-02-22 21:14:04 · answer #2 · answered by Renaissance Man 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Ok, so if I understand correctly, what you're saying is that you're tolerating a green glow for the sake of cost savings...???
To answer the question, its about the money. It's ALWAYS about the money (almost). The scientists who were working on ways to make flourescent bulbs viable were focused only on minimal requirements for light output and cost to operate -- then they put them out there. They must be doing fine in the market, so why fix what isn't "broken"? More appropriately, is the ROI for to solve this problem worth it to the companies? I'm guessing the companies think not.
2007-02-22 21:21:04 · answer #3 · answered by Hobbes 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well.. by your own question you answer the question.
They do make true color, black light and grow light flourescents.
The black light isn't too much extra and only costs more due to low production demand.
Grow lights cost a bit more from low production and higher costs to make the bulb operate in the correct "spectrum"
True color has low demand and high material cost.
2007-02-22 21:13:00 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yup, the coatings that make up true color bulbs are much more expensive. Sorry, don't know why, but I suspect that they're much more scarce commodities.
2007-02-22 21:10:39 · answer #5 · answered by tony1athome 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If ALL fluorescent bulbs turn EVERYTHING green, the problem may be with your vision...
2007-02-22 21:31:32 · answer #6 · answered by Rhinorm 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
They do.
http://www.naturallighting.com/web/shop.php
2007-02-22 21:13:35 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋