Fluorescents lamps – both linear and compact – work differently from incandescents since light is produced by electricity flowing through a gas tube. All linear and some compact lamps require control gear for their operation.

Household Compact Lamps (Energy-saver or CFL-i Lamps) have their control gear built into them and can be plugged directly into a suitable light socket. Linear versions come in three 'whites':

• warm white (2700K)
  
• cool white (4000K)
  
• cool daylight (6500K)
  

Linear lamps are not currently able to be retrofitted into existing light fittings as they require control gear for their operation.

Integrated compact fluorescents (CFL-i) can be used in this way and they are a great replacement for incandescent and mercury vapour lamps – typically a 45W CFL can replace a 200W incandescent or an 80W mercury vapour lamp.

Find the right fluorescent lamp for the job
All lamps create light but not all light is equal. Different characteristics of the light produced can be classified by two key characteristics:

• Colour rendering is a general expression for the appearance of surface colours when illuminated by light from a given source compared with their appearance under light from some reference source. 'Good colour rendering' implies similarity of appearance to that under an acceptable light source, such as daylight.
  
• Illuminance is the amount of light that falls on a surface. It does not depend on the colour of the surface and is very easy to measure using a light meter (illuminance is measured in units of lux).
  

Be sure to choose the correct fluorescent lamp for your lighting needs.


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