With the wide spread availability of compact fluorescent bulbs you can actually use fluorescent everywhere. Not only can the use of flourescents help the environment, they are also cheaper to operate.
But there are some draw backs that should be considered when using fluorescent lights. The sole use of fluorescent lights can have some negative ergonomic and health effects on you.
Flicker
Fluorescent lights are gas filled tubes. The gas gets excited by electric pulses and emits light. The item responsible for exciting the gas is called a ballast.
Ballasts send pulses of electricity. These pulses turn the light on and off quite fast. The rate of these pulses is quite high, high enough that you don’t see it. But that doesn’t mean you don’t notice it.
Some people have sensitivity to this flicker. They perceive the variations in intensity of the light source and it messes up their system. Those who are affected by flicker often suffer from:
- Headaches
- Migraines
- Eye Strain
- Eye Discomfort
Solutions
- Use lights with electronic ballasts, not magnetic ballasts.
- Use lights with ballasts that convert voltages at a high frequency (20,000 – 60,000 Hz).
- Replace bulbs regularly. Older bulbs flicker more.
- Combine an incandescent light with your fluorescent lighting so that the constant light from the incandescent bulb covers up the flicker.
