Lighting in office

[wheel]

I'm considering getting away from general incandescent bulbs in my home office - mainly because the days are getting shorter and I'm getting older and not seeing fine print as well as I used to. I'm finding myself turning on a desk lamp and shining it on paperwork like I'm some kind of old dude.

I'm considering going with some type of florescent, but don't really know what I'm doing.

Anyone know anything about lighting and able to provide suggestions?

[lucy24]

Fluorescent lights have changed a lot since we were young. (She said, making utterly unfounded assumptions.) Recently a lamp materialized in my art studio that had a wonderful warm glow. I assumed it was one of those expensive, watt-guzzling halogen lamps-- but it's simply a full-spectrum fluorescent. They even make dimmable fluorescents now.

You don't need to make huge decisions or remodel your office. Just try shoving in a different bulb. Look for the ones that carry a rebate from your utility company; they'll practically pay you to switch!

[incrediBILL]

I have the same problem actually, getting old sucks doesn't it?

I replaced all my regular bulbs in the entire house with the fluorescent bulb screw in replacements, with the exception of the 4 kitchen and 2 bathroom floods. Using a lot less wattage to get the same amount of light now. Skip those stupid expensive bulbs, the cheap ones you get at the hardware store work just fine.

... and as Lucy rightly pointed out, you can find some subsidized bulbs for next to nothing assuming they do that up in your area, and there are dimmable versions too.

The only thing I ran into is some bulbs are instant-on while others come on half-intensity for a while and then kick in full intensity if you leave it on for a minute.

I'd suggest initially buying a few different brands and see which ones you like before getting too heavily invested as I went through about 4 different bulbs before I found one that was just right and liked the quality of the light it output as well.

Now that the prices are dropping, I'm thinking of going LED on a couple of desk lamps just to see if I like them as they consume almost no power, are brighter than hell, and don't operate cool and don't heat up your workspace in the summer.

Not to mention I won't feel bad if I leave an LED light on 24/7 as it would still use less electricity than a normal light or a fluorescent used for a fraction of that time!

[buckworks]

I have halogen ceiling lights in my office, positioned to give bright, even light on my desk and lower light levels in the rest of the room.

The rest of our lightbulbs are a mix of types, and when old incandescents burn out they're usually replaced with fluorescents.

Our outdoor lights are all motion sensitive so they'll come on when needed then shut off automatically in a few minutes. I'd also like to do that in a few indoor hallways.

[lucy24]

I'd also like to do that in a few indoor hallways.

There speaks someone who doesn't have a cat. But yes, I really miss the motion-activated porch light at my previous apartment. You just leave it on all the time.