Could Compact Fluorescent Bulbs Cause UV Damage To Your Skin?

CFL Bulb. Wikimedia Commons

Compact Fluorescent Bulbs Could Cause Ultraviolet Damage to Skin -- Popular Science

We know CFL bulbs are world-changingly efficient, producing the same level of light as their incandescent parents while using a quarter of the energy. But they're still a relatively new device, and few long-term studies have been carried out on them. One of the most recent, a new report from a team at Stony Brook, suggests CFLs might cause damage to skin by releasing UV rays.

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My Comment: Personally .... I hate CFBs. My eyes do not like the light. As to what long-term studies may reveal .... do not be surprised if more abnormalities are discovered.

Headed Toward Extinction: The Light Bulb

From CBS News:

I come not to praise the incandescent light bulb. I come to bury it.

The familiar incandescent Edison bulb debuted 130 years ago, on December 31, 1879. And the next day, its death spiral will begin. Australia has imposed regulations that will phase the bulb out in 2010 and the European Union will follow in 2012.

The U.S. meanwhile, will get rid of them through new efficiency regulations in stages. 100-watt incandescents will vanish in 2012, followed by 75-watts a year later and 60-watts a year after that.

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The Light Bulb That Lasts 25 Years: It's Environmentally Friendly And As Bright As The Old Ones... But It Will Cost You £30

Photo: Bright idea: The Pharox light bulb lasts 25 years or longer if used for four hours a day

From The Daily Mail:

It could be the breakthrough that finally has consumers warming to the energy-saving light bulb.

A version that brightens up instantly, costs just 88p a year to run and lasts up to 25 years has gone on sale in Britain for the first time.

The only catch is that the new LED bulb will cost £30.

Manufacturers claim the Pharox is the first low-energy bulb to give off the same light quality and brightness as a conventional 60-watt traditional bulb.

They say that, despite its initial cost, each bulb will pay for itself in just three years.

After that, each one used could shave around £9 a year off a typical household electricity bill.

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Energy Saving Light Bulbs Offer Dim Future

Light Bulb Test Photo: JULIAN SIMMONDS

From The Telegraph:

Energy saving light bulbs are not as bright as their traditional counterparts and claims about the amount of light they produce are "exaggerated", the European Union has admitted.

Soon they will be the only kind of light bulb allowed, but now officials in Brussels have admitted that energy-saving bulbs are not as bright as the old-fashioned kind they are replacing.

From tomorrow a Europe-wide ban on traditional incandescent bulbs will begin to be rolled out, with a ban on 100W bulbs and old-style frosted or pearled bulbs.

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Lighting Revolution Forecast By Top Scientist

In search of the 60 - year household light bulb - packaged green LEDs on InGaN multiple quantum well devices grown at Cambridge University. (Credit: Image courtesy of AlphaGalileo Foundation)

From Science Daily:

ScienceDaily (July 22, 2009) — New developments in a substance which emits brilliant light could lead to a revolution in lighting for the home and office in five years, claims a leading UK materials scientist, Professor Colin Humphreys of Cambridge University. The source of the huge potential he foresees, gallium nitride (GaN), is already used for some lighting applications such as camera flashes, bicycle lights, mobile phones and interior lighting for buses, trains and planes.

But making it possible to use GaN for home and office lighting is the Holy Grail. If achieved, it could reduce the typical electricity consumption for lighting of a developed country by around 75% while delivering major cuts in carbon dioxide emissions from power stations, and preserving fossil fuel reserves.

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Low-Energy Light Bulbs Can Cause Rashes And Swelling To Sensitive Skin, Warn Experts

A break with tradition: Medical experts say people with light-sensitive skin disorders should be exempt from using low-energy light bulbs

From Daily Mail Online:

The phasing out of traditional light bulbs could cause misery for thousands who have light-sensitive skin disorders, medical experts warned yesterday.

Dr Robert Sarkany said some low-energy bulbs gave vulnerable people painful rashes and swelling.

He backed calls by patient groups for the Government to give medical exemptions for those at risk.

The warning comes as British shops start to clear their shelves of traditional bulbs, which are being replaced by more energy-efficient versions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

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