8 Fluorescent Light Alternatives for Better Quality Lighting

There are several fluorescent light alternatives that you can choose from to make your space look more elegant and fascinating. Lights like halogen bulbs, pendant LED lights, and ceramic metal halide can be ideal fluorescent light replacements. 

Fluorescent light is a low-pressure mercury gas discharge that emits fluorescence to produce visible light. It’s much cooler and more efficient than an incandescent light source. An incandescent light produces electromagnetic radiation from a hot body and emits a cool-toned white visible light. 

Here in this article, our experts have shared the best alternatives to fluorescent lighting that you can choose as the prime lighting type for your space.

8 Fluorescent Light Alternatives

Even though fluorescent lights are 75% more efficient, they still contain mercury gas. The increased efficiency means we'll generate less natural mercury gas during mining and energy production.

But who wants to accidentally break one of these bulbs and release mercury into their home or work environment or even the atmosphere? Nobody wants that, especially not with the advancements in the lighting industry available to us like LED bulbs.

This section will talk about a few different types of alternative options to fluorescent lights. A few of our light and lamp enthusiasts have come around together with a final list of different fluorescent lights that are ideal for any and everywhere for the perfect kind of ambiance that you may want.

Fluorescent Tube & Circline Lamps

These are the ideal types of light bulbs for any industrial usage. These lights emit a very distinctively bright light that is not suitable for residential or indoor uses, such as office space, bed/living room, or indoors. There are quite a few variations to these types too.

• Circle Tube is available in various shapes and sizes from 6-16 inches in diameter with a 4-pin connector.
• T-5 recently is also trying to replace the T-8 version and is being used commercially widely throughout Europe.
• T-12 is the most common tube-shaped light. It is a bi-pinned light that usually doesn’t require a starter.
• U-tube is a tube bent in half in the shape of a U, roughly 22 inches long and brighter than a tube bulb.
• T-8 is so high in demand that it has almost started to replace the T-12 version because it is more energy-efficient and gives off more light.

The main point here is not only the amount of lumens being produced but also the kelvin temperature rating. Soft white (2700K warm incandescent) and bright white (3000K warm white) won't cut it, though daylight (5000K natural light) is getting there and is usually sufficient for an industrial setting. For a living room, soft white or daylight bulbs is still a huge debate, though.

Halogen Bulbs

It’s an updated and more sophisticated incandescent light version containing a tungsten filament sealed in a compact glass filled with chemically inactive gasses and a little bit of halogen such as iodine.

While the halogen bulbs last much lesser than any other bulbs, when used for roughly 2-3 hours a day, they can provide a staggering 2-3 years of light supply. This keeps you from climbing up in your inconvenient types of light fixtures more often than needed. They may "last less long" but they won't blow out frequently like fluorescent bulbs do.

The only downfall to halogen bulbs is the fact that it does tend to pose a threat of being a fire hazard. The impressive heat that these fluorescent light alternatives output could easily set fire to anything that has been in contact with the light for too long.

Ceramic Metal Halide

This type of light is also known as CMH, and it’s the closest light type imitating the sun. No other light provides anything as similar as it does. It gives the plants the wavelength exposures that they usually get from the sun. This helps them to grow and develop. Among others, CMH provides UltraViolet rays a lot more in comparison.

Depending on what we’re comparing it to and for how long the light has been in use, CMH can overall provides at least 20 percent more efficient usable lighting than others. It has also been confirmed that CMH guarantees to be usable for a lot longer compared to incandescent and halogen lights.

One more benefit to it is the fact that even though CMH operates at a much higher temperature, it produces significantly less heat. Even in smaller grow rooms, you can easily use it and even let it be closer to the plant itself.

Pendant LED Lights

This alternative to fluorescent lights are to be found in various shapes and sizes, which is a decor piece in and of itself while providing the added benefit of surrounding the area with bright light.

Pendant LED lights are so intricately thought through in the making that it projects the light onto the ceiling, which casts a reflection onto the floor, making the whole space appear wider and larger.

The light itself used in the pendant lights are typically either halogens or incandescents. A long strip or multiple lights are used throughout and around the fixture.

The bright and vivid lights from halogens and Incandescents may not last as long as many others alternatives to fluorescent lighting on the market. They provided an aesthetic lit space for your cozy nook and ambiance.

LED Tube Lighting

Lately, modern office spaces have been switching over to LED Tube Lights from the Fluorescent lights, and there are too many valid reasons to do so.

LED Tube Lights are just about as cheap as any fluorescent lights are. They are just as simpler to install, if not more than fluorescent bulbs. These take much less energy yet somehow provide significantly more output in terms of how bright they are.

Moreover, these types of LED lights really don’t require half as much changing to be done as any other. These fluorescent light alternatives last much longer and provide a very well-lit area for office spaces and homes.

Uniform Lighting for Office Space

Office spaces must be very well-lit and consistent. It’s essential to have proper lighting where it’s always very chaotic and hectic. Lighting plays an important role here because it can either promote more work productivity or exhaustion and laziness.

Having bright cool-toned lights in office spaces will make the employees feel more awake and active. It will help them work with more enthusiasm and be more aware. These types of ceiling lights help reduce shadows which can tire the eyes over the course of a work day.

Whereas having warmer toned lighting will only make the environment gloomier and tiring. Moreover, the heat from the warm lights is usually incandescent lights that emit extreme heat at times, which only makes the environment worse and cranky. It even recedes work productivity and promotes exhaustion.

Natural Lighting

There is nothing better than a little bit of a break from the artificial light sources and taking a little time to enjoy the natural light that has been provided to us as one of the fluorescent light alternatives.

Being around too many artificials has brought up a lot of distortion and adverse impacts. This is why taking some time out to enjoy the sunlight outdoors is essential. Moreover, it’s necessary to soak in the natural fresh air and sunlight. It also comes with the fact that it’s not a practical solution.

It’s impossible to completely replace the lighting fixtures at home and let the sunlight in only at all-day hours. But when you can, having the right types of window treatments can make it that much more enjoyable.

Candles 

Candles can give your space some aesthetic looks, depending on your chosen type. Even certain types of candles can leave soothing scents that can lower your stress level and calm you down due to the essential oils in the candles. Some of the most popular candle types are...

Taper Candles - Appropriate for dinner tables and candlelit dinners. It creates a nice soothing warmth and calming environment at the dining spot, lasting up to 10 hours each. However, being a soft type of candle, it requires some form of balance to it.

Pillar Candles - These smokeless candles burn without having to be put into any jars or containers. They can burn for up to 3-4 hours straight. Moreover, this type of candle is available in various sizes ranging from 3-16 inches in length with up to 1-3 wicks.

Birthday Candles - These have been around for ages and are used to add a touch of flair to the person celebrating. These come in too many different shapes, sizes, and colors, whether it is intended for an adult or a child. It will always remain a fun and celebratory part of birthdays.

Liquid Candles - This is a unique and uncommon type of candle that not many people use. These are made of soft pure liquid paraffin, which is safe to use even in Food Services. This alternative to fluorescent lights is a transparent, mess-free candle that last anywhere from 8 to 100 hours, depending on the height and thickness.

Fluorescent Light Alternatives for Modern Quality Visibility

Lighting plays a huge role that requires a lot of thought and understanding regarding the ambiance, mood, and environment. However, all these alternatives to fluorescent lighting don't all work the same but at the end of the day and give us the bonus of visual appeal and peace.

There are many fluorescent light alternatives that you can consider to decorate your home, office, or study place that will serve you much better than what you're dealing with right now.

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