opinions on "natural light" CF bulbs

[turbodog]

We have CF bulbs exclusively in our house. On a whim, I bought 4 new bulbs for my office. They were supposed to be "natural spectrum lighting" according to the package.

They make my office look like something out of a sci-fi movie. The light is REALLY white. It makes the old bulbs look yellow/brown.

Old bulbs were:
commercial electric
14/60 watt
twist style

New bulbs:
lights of america
20/75 watt
model 2220-65k
1150 lumens

From looking, it "appears" these new bulbs are a 65k color temp.

Can anyone comment on this with some accuracy?

[jtr1962]

Those are 6500K, and unless you light to fairly bright levels 6500K can look odd. 6500K is actually made to mimic the combination of sunlight and skylight present on an average day. I've found fluorescents designed to mimic the sun at 5000K to 5500K are a lot more pleasing and natural at typical indoor light levels. This isn't meant to say that 6500K doesn't have it's place. If you light a room to a level of maybe 1000 lux or more it should start to look more natural. Also, I highly doubt that if it's made by Lights of America it has anything approaching the CRI of 90+ that most better "sunlight" CFLs have. More likely the CRI is 75 to 82. A lower CRI can also make things look funny.

Your eye is the culprit here. At lower light levels your pupil is open wider, and you're more sensitive to blue light. Therefore, a light that might look white outdoors looks blue indoors. Another thing to consider is that you made a big jump in color temperature in one step. Regular 2700K CFLs always look very yellow/brown next to 6500K. Your eye is undoubtedly used to the yellower light, and it will take some time before the 6500K doesn't seem so odd. Once you get used to it, even if the CFLs you're using aren't optimal for natural light, you'll wonder how you put up with warm white CFLs or incandescents all those years. Once I switched most of my lighting here to high quality, 5000K linear fluorescent, I wondered how I could stand the regular cool whites that I used before (and even those with all their drawbacks I liked far better than incandescents).

All that said, I'm glad you at least tried CFLs in higher color temps even if your experience left something to be desired. The common 2700/3000K ones are completely disgusting to anyone who has ever seen or used decent "natural" lighting. Ditto for incandescent lighting. It's just that making the jump to better lighting in one step is frequently a shock to people used to crappy yellow lighting for years, especially if they don't spend much time outdoors during the day to get used to whiter light. You might do better trying some high CRI 5000K to 5500K CFLs. Here is one place where you can get them.

[turbodog]

We've got some t8 48" bulbs in our kitchen. These seems to be a mix between both color temps. But, this might be because there are 8 high wattage bulbs also, 4/fixture.

I'm gonna play with these some. Thanks for the link, but I really don't wanna spend $12/bulb right now. Maybe I can find some 5000k bulbs at wal-mart/home depot/etc for a decent price.

[yuandrew]

Well, with fluorscent lamps emitting "cool" colors, it may actually look kind of dim (like on a cloudy day) if you have one bulb. If you have many lights and your room is "classroom bright" it can look very good.

[flashfan]

I prefer, and generally use "white" CFL bulbs, from 4100k up to 6500k. The 105-watt, 6500k lamp I have in the bedroom seemed to have a slight aqua tinge to it at first, but I must be accustomed to it, for I don't notice the tint at all now. In fact, when seen from down the hall, light spilling out the doorway really looks just like daylight, seemingly without any hint of blue.

The high color temperature bulbs are especially useful for determining true colors. Ever tried distinguishing between black and dark navy socks in "yellow" light?

The one place that I use 2700k CFL lamps is the living room--somehow white light just makes everything look odd there.

[yuandrew]

I'm used to any type of light from my 2700K CFLs to the ~5000K GE chroma 50 in my room and the 6500K Easy Eye desk lamp that I have next to this computer.

Some people can't tolerate flourescent lamps of any color temperature however; I know a few people who prefer incandescent bulbs. One teacher at my school even bought several Torchier Floor lamps for her room.

[Muppet]

5500K is the way to go. The only **really** bright CFL I could find was 6500K and it's OK, but a lot better for a sunlight-yellow shade...