In a previous post, I discussed my attempts at living a "greener" (yet still design-savvy) life. Really, I try very hard ... but one area in which I fall short is my semi-refusal to use CFLs (Compact Flourescent Lightbulbs). Yes, yes, yes, I know all of the facts. One CFL can save over $30 in electricity over the life of a lamp and save many times its own weight in greenhouse gas emissions. They are more expensive than standard bulbs, but allegedly last many times as long. (I'm somewhat dubious about this because I had a couple burn out super quickly ... within a month or two. I was really baffled by that.) "Soft white" CFLs are the best and they aren't all that different from standard bulbs. Please notice the emphasis on all that!
My favorite light bulbs - since their introduction - are the GE Reveal. GE Reveal bulbs filter out dull incandescent rays so that you are left with only clean, beautiful light. I love them!!! At one time, every light bulb in my house was a GE Reveal. In a continued effort to be more environmentally conscious, however, I did replace many of the light bulbs in my house with CFLs ... including the bulbs in my recessed cans. I was already annoyed with them because CFLs have to "warm up" - after you turn them on, they take a while to reach their full brightness. Well, I move rather quickly around my house and I'm really peeved when I turn on the light to do something but have to wait several minutes until I can see. But I was willing to deal with that minor inconvenience. Big of me, I know. But here's the straw that broke the camel's back. I was sitting in my living room looking through the door to the master suite ... when I noticed that my beloved Caffe Creme paint from Restoration Hardware looked distinctively green. It's a cream paint, but it had a distinctively green cast to it. Really? It had never been green before! This baffled me for days, and I chalked it up to the contrast between the Caffe Creme in the master hallway and new paint in the living room. Finally it dawned on me that the CFLs in the hallway's recessed cans were casting their funky light on my cream paint, causing it to look greenish. A few new GE Reveals later and my problem was solved. I have so far resisted replacing all of my CFLs with GE Reveal bulbs, but I must admit that I am very tempted. I'm sorry! I know I shouldn't feel that way. I promise to always bring my reusable shopping bags and to turn off every unused light in the house!
One side note - another downside to CFLs is that there are very few that are dimmer-friendly. So despite my initial replacement strategy, the chandelier bulbs in the dining room remained GE Reveals ... and at this rate, will continue to do so.