Fluorescent bathroom lights

Long tubes have too harsh a light

I have fluorescent bathroom lights - those long tube fluorescents. I can't stand the harsh white light they put out - are there any soft white tubes I can use, or should I install some other kind of light in my bathroom?

Answer from Green Energy Efficient Homes

The long fluorescent tubes usually come with a ballast in the fixture, which means you would normally either have to keep using fluorescent tubes, or change the fixture. If you just want to buy fluorescent tubes with a warmer color temperature, look for ones with a color temperature of 2800-3300 Kelvin, that's in the warm color range, and will give a color close to what you'd get with an incandescent bulb.

For at least some fluorescent tubes, such as 48" T8 fluorescent tubes, there are now LED lights that provide the same amount of light in a warmer color at a fraction of the energy cost. These come in warm, cool, neutral, or bright light - take your pick. Again, given your concerns about harsh lighting, the warm color range will probably address any concerns you have about unpleasant light color.

If you hate the lights because of buzzing, replacing the ballast might help. A buzzing fluorescent fixture usually means the ballast is getting long in the tooth.

Hopefully you also have a cover over your fixture, both to mute the glaring brightness of the fluorescent tube, and also to protect the ballast and tube from humidity in the bathroom.

If this were my house I'd replace the fluorescent bathroom lights with something more pleasing, and worry more about the cost than the energy efficiency. I would suggest installing sealed pot light fixtures and using either regular halogen lights, or if you want to be uber-efficient, LED pot lights. But the LED option is probably not cost-effective, unless you spend hours in the bathroom every day - LEDs are really a better investment in living rooms, kitchens, and other areas where you spend more time, for example, LED under cabinet lights for your kitchen. You're better off to save money and buy a less expensive bulb for a room like the bathroom that you likely don't use much; the money you save there can be better put towards energy efficiency measures that will have a real impact.

Remember that spiral CFL bulbs don't do that well in enclosed fixtures, especially when placed horizontally. I find that the CFL bulbs I put in overhead fixtures tend to burn out much sooner than the advertised 8,000 hours.

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