Fluorescent Lamps
Fluorescent lamps can enhance your lighting design and help you save on those escalating energy bills. Many homeowners use fluorescent bulbs in their kitchens, hallways, and basement areas. Commercial settings and schools also use fluorescent lamps because of their energy efficiency. This type of lamp is called a gas discharge fixture because it uses electricity to stimulate mercury vapor in argon or neon gas. This results is a plasma like substance, which emits short wave UV light. The illumination then causes some kind of phosphor to illuminate, which in turn produces a good source of visible light.
There is a great selection of fluorescent lamp fixtures. The vast online venue gives customers a plethora of quality choices from some of the best manufacturers in the lighting industry. There are lighting professionals that are familiar with the science of light and how to manipulate illumination to fit into your design theme. These experts can help you select the appropriate product for your lighting project and answer any questions you may have about techniques and format. Homeowners and commercial business people can sort through our unique product line in order to find the best solution to their lighting dilemma.
Fluorescent lamps require a ballast in order to operate efficiently. Ballasts help to regulate the amount of power flowing through the bulb. In typical tube fixtures, the ballast is usually located inside the device. Compact fluorescent light bulbs may have the ballast integrated into the actual fixture, which gives the individual the advantage of using them in lamp holders normally seen with incandescent fixtures.
These light fixtures are filled with a combination of gas and low-pressure mercury vapor. Argon, Xenon, argon-neon, or krypton is combined with mercury vapor inside the bulb. The bulb itself is covered in a fluorescent coating, which is made up of metallic and earthly phosphor salts. UV light is dispelled from this bulb and becomes absorbed by the fluorescent coating only to be re-emitted at lower wavelengths to produce a source of visible illumination. The phosphors control the coloring of the illumination, and the bulb’s glass stops harmful UV radiation from escaping the lamp.
Fluorescent lamps are called negative resistance devices. As the amount of current, which flows through the bulb increases, the gases that become ionized also start to rise. This causes the electrical resistance of the fixture to lessen, and in turn leads to an increased current flow. This unlimited current flow has to be controlled by a ballast, otherwise the lamp could completely self-implode!
The colors produced by these bulbs can be a strange sight to the human eye. Someone who is standing under a fluorescent lamp may have healthy white colored skin beforehand, but appear to radiate a sick blue under this type of illumination. This color usually results from the blue and green lines dispersed by the mercury vapor arc, along with the specific type of phosphor being utilized. Many colors appear to be a little different under fluorescent lamps compared to incandescent bulbs. More expensive fixtures have a triphosphor mixture, which contain emission bands that are spread out more evenly across the color spectrum. These devices allow the human eye to see more naturally occurring colors.
Retrofit fluorescent lamps are becoming extremely popular among residents and commercial owners. There are now different size and style light bulbs available that compensate for traditional looking fixtures. These bulbs tend to be more energy efficient and will save you more money in the long run.
To learn more visit our fluorescent lamps section or read more about fluorescent lamps.