As a person interested in a sustainable world, I am looking to do my part in as many ways as possible. As an Interior Designer here in Portland, Oregon where we are deeply concerned with being eco-friendly, I have the opportunity and the responsibility of influencing others more than the average person because I help my clients to choose materials, finishes and products that can be (or not be) "green", efficient, or sustainable. I also provide home staging services so I have an entire warehouse of furniture, accessories and lamps, which again, can be green or not. The one area in which I admittedly have such a hard time making the green choice is lighting. I simply cannot stand the color of CFL's (compact flourescent light bulbs). Give me a CFL that duplicates the clear and bright color of halogen lights and I will be all over it!
In fact, I had the opportunity to decorate a model home for a LEED Certified townhome development. After everything the developer had gone through to obtain LEED certification, he asked me to please use a good halogen torchiere lamp in the living room. Even though the ceiling fixtures were the 'last word' in energy efficiency, they put out a sickly cold light. Sort of defeats the purpose if we put in energy efficient lights in our new construction only to have people buying halogen or incandescent lamps to try to counteract the look.
All this time, I've been thinking that the reason the color of the light was horrible, is because it is not possible to make it any better. Imagine my surprise when I read this great article, linked here for you to enjoy in it's entirety. Turns out it is all about ... surprise, surprise, ... money! I do hope that progress will be made on CFL's. I am longing to be green in that area too.
Why Energy Efficient Light Bulbs Fail to Thrive
You can see my Interior Design, Home Staging and Redesign work at Pangaea Interior Design.
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