Fluorescent Lights For a lot of people, fluorescent lights have kind of a bad reputation. When these people think of fluorescent lighting, they associate it with the dull, colorless look of a commercial bathroom somewhere. They think about an old fluorescent light, buzzing endlessly and giving their face a washed out look. In reality, however, fluorescent lighting has come a long way in the last several years. Fluorescent lamps nowadays are not just more efficient than incandescent lighting, but they also rival them for vibrant light as well. Back in the day, fluorescent lights used to all use the same approach to creating white light. Rather than creating a broad spectrum that looks natural, they would use a combination of a few different colors to make the eye think that it was seeing white light. Although this technique in the fluorescent light was pretty convincing, it also gave things a little bit of a washed out appearance. Nothing would seem bright and vibrant like it did in daylight. The colors were much duller than those from a standard incandescent light. Nowadays, even fluorescent track lighting has gotten better. Although you can still find the fluorescent light of the old-style, more and more of them are switching to a more naturalistic model of making light. I don't know quite how it works, but it does live up to its claims. It doesn't have that same depressing, bluish pallor to it. Everything looks very bright and natural under it, and it lights evenly and consistently without that buzzing. Many people have some pretty stock expectations from florescent. The first association that most people have is the bar lighting. We've all had this in some place that we worked or lived before – a school, and office, or even a coffee shop or restaurant we liked. Although that style of fluorescent light is still in use, there are many other styles as well. Nowadays, you can actually replace the bulbs in your lamps with fluorescent light bulbs. Even a standard lamp can use a normal fluorescent bulb, allowing you to start saving energy almost immediately. Although these fluorescent lights do cost a lot more than a normal incandescent bulb, the savings are substantial. They last a lot longer than normal light bulbs, and use up something like a third as much energy. You can save money in the long run, and feel good about doing your part to help the environment. Summary Fluorescent lights have improved many times over from the lights of yesteryear. Track lighting is very popular, and these bulbs can give great light and value for many homeowners. More realistic and natural lighting is in order for the home, and these new bulbs live up to the hype. Related Articles Compact Fluorescent Lamps Related Sites