I Guess You Gotta Do What You Gotta Do!

[abajan]

Just ran across this story. A bit extreme perhaps but necessary under the circumstances, won’t you say?

[breeze]

I am very aware of how flickering lights can cause seizures in people with certain forms of epilepsy,
and how some migraines can actually be caused by certain types of seizures - but, I have never
noticed my eco-friendly bulbs flickering. They do take longer to brighten, but I have gotten used
to that, so it's not a problem. But, like you said - sometimes, you gotta do what you gotta do!

[Cyclenall]

This is why I believe a ban on traditional lightbulbs is stupid. There are people who can't tolerate them and now before doing much research they force people to accept some of those CFL's that suck. They fail often for many of the people I know use them and are dangerous for the environment since there is mercury in them. Not so eco-friendly is it?

[vbhoutex]

This is why I believe a ban on traditional lightbulbs is stupid. There are people who can't tolerate them and now before doing much research they force people to accept some of those CFL's that suck. They fail often for many of the people I know use them and are dangerous for the environment since there is mercury in them. Not so eco-friendly is it?

I had a hard time convincing my wife we should be using CFL's but she finally relented when we put in a new light fixture in her dressing area. Since then, one has failed in there and now another has failed in one of the bedrooms. None of these bulbs is more than 2 months old. They are warrantied and today I got a replacement in the mail and it was broken. I won't even open the box and we will no longer use CFL's.

[coriolis]

Strange. I've had great success with CFL's and haven't noticed any flickering either.

I wonder if any flickering could be mitigated by using several nearby lamps to sort of cancel out the flickering. Our kitchen ceiling fixture, for instance has space for two of them. We have two lamps in our dining room...

Come to think of it, the flickering is probably caused by the voltage pulses inherent in AC power. So two nearby lights would be seeing the same pulses and the flickers would be synchronized. OK forget that theory.

But it's hard to argue with the fact that they use a fraction of the electricity of an incandescent. I disagree with the European approach, making it mandatory. If there's a large savings, most people will switch.

There is also another new alternative that's coming into the market: LED (light-emitting diode) lights. They are also very efficient. with a little time, they will gain acceptance and become more prevalent, and without the mercury and flickering.