Lights On

[rose2008-2008]

Does anyone else balk at the price of Light Bulbs. I know some of the poundstretcher shops have a few sizes but not all. Its ridiculous. And there are so many different types it takes you ages to find what you want. When you buy packs sometimes you get one that does not work and its always the last one in the box you go to use. By then of course you have not got the receipt!!!. I have heard that soon it will be all Energy Saving Bulbs only??..I was going to say DAYLIGHT ROBBERY,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, that sounds like a good joke for this thread!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.

[duck_a_lorange]

"lumen" is the scientific measure for the amount of light given out by a light source.

A low-energy fluorescent, for instance, allegedly "100w old bulb equivalent", gives off nowhere near the quantity of "lumens" that the old bulbs gave off, which is why everybody says they are dim - because they are dim.

The little curly wire in the old light bulbs that heats up to give off light is made of Tungsten Carbide.

[rose2008-2008]

Ohhhhh i see. Thank you ladies.

[cee-dee]

When I moved here about 12 years ago (I forget exactly when without checking) there were numerous Energy Saving" bulbs here. They're all still going!

However, for taking pics, the colour temperature is wrong and also, the light output is nothing like a good, old-fashioned Tunsten bulb. You can check that with a light meter, they might claim "equivalent to 100 watt bulb" but they're not.

I use a Tungsten bulb where I'm working/reading/writing/taking pics.

Anyway, most places round here were not selling Tungsten bulbs so I looked on that auction site, what was it? Ebay or summat. So, I bought a box of 100. Buying a quantity was much cheaper.

How can the overall cost of those expensive bulbs be "energy-saving"? The cost and production factor surely negates any saving in energy and the reduction in light output isn't good for your eyesight anyway?

This was taken with room lighting (Tungsten bulb), hand held:-

[peteryola]

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@cee-dee wrote:

the reduction in light output isn't good for your eyesight anyway?

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Excessively bright light is far more damaging; if a light is uncomfortable it's too bright.

Lower light levels are not in themselves damaging; it's if you're straining to make out fine detail when there is a problem.  The comfortable level will vary from individual to individual; if your eyes feel comortable doing whatever you are doing, then the light is fine.

As a point of interest, in my study I have just two single 40W equivalents, equidistant ceiling mounted, and that is extremely comfortable for me.

If I have to get up in the night to visit the little room, I don't put any lights on or use any torches - the skyglow coming in from the bathroom window is enough to show me where the bathroom is and for me to see where everything in the room is even on the darkest nights - what many people do not realise is just how good the human eye is when it is fully dark adapted, which takes about 20 - 30 minutes to achieve.  When waking up in the night for that purpose, the eye will be fully dark adapted; putting even the smallest light on will instantly destroy the dark adaption and the result is to make the darkness seem a lot deeper than it is.  Try it sometime, getting around at night with fully dark adapted eyes - it can be quite surprising just how much detail you can make out.

[rose2008-2008]

My eyes get sensitive to the light when im in Migraine Mode. Its horrible. Sometimes i just want to put Dark Glasses on even indoors!!!!!!!!/ Even this pc seems bright and my glasses are supposed to be ante glare. Mind you i had a Migraine on saturday and its still lurking..

[cee-dee]

Without going in to the science involved or giving links to scientific papers (which are mostly not read fully) reading in low light leads to eye-strain which produces a number of symptoms which are usually resolved by rest.

However, it seems that continual reading in low light does lead to problems with vision in some people but the results of studies seem to prove that we're all different.

Daylight is the most natural light level (and I don't mean in full Sun) and that's the most natural and the level best suited for us.

All sorts of light have different colour temperatures and natural daylight on an overcast day is around 6,700º Kelvin. The luminence of a similar day is around 1000 lux. Reading in such a light level whether natural or artificial would only lead to eye strain if continued for an excessive period but wouldn't lead to any damage.

[ilove2patch]

I have 'Daylight' bulbs in all my craft worklamps & they really are like daylight with true colours. They say they are low energy ones but are extremely bright..

[rose2008-2008]

Its interesting what you said Cee Dee,,,mmmm yes.

[bankhaunter]

The reason for a brighter light making reading easier and more comfortable for some people is quite simple.

The brighter light causes the person's puplils to contract which has the effect of giving a greater depth of field making the distance between the page and the eye less critical.

Just like stopping down a camera lens.

[rose2008-2008]

Got some lights for my living room Lamp,,,it was quite dark without them. When its completely dark the telly hurts my eyes. I think you just need a soft lamplight which is what my living room one is. It actually casts light up on the ceiling really. I thought id brought the wrong sort of lamp at first but i actually prefer it.