Are florescent light bulbs harmful in any way? What are their advantages?

Answer 1

If a fluorescent bulb is broken, the glass can cut you, and the materials inside (including mercury) are hazardous. Flicker from a weak fluorescent tube can be irritating. A daylight or full spectrum light has a much better color balance than an ordinary tube, giving a warmer, more comfortable feeling, and helping avoid the form of depression called seasonal affective disorder.

The main advantages, as nearly everyone knows, are efficiency and long life.

Answer 2

They save energy. It takes 4 15- watt Compact Fluorescent Lights (CFLs) to take up the energy of one 60-watt regular, and at the same time putting out the same amount of light. By saving energy, they reduce your home/building's carbon footprint, andslowing global warmig. (If enough people use them, and recycle, and save paper, the world!)

The downside: Only one. CFLs contain mercury. Whatever you do, don't break 'em. Mercury will spill out, an it's been proven to cause brain defects and cancer. So WHATEVER YOU DO, don't break 'em!

Change a light bulb, change the world!