How to Make Flourescent Lights More Natural

Fluorescent lighting is said to be sterile, unappealing, or cheap looking. All fluorescent lights are color rated on the kelvin scale, so it's easy to determine what color they produce. Mix different color fluorescent bulbs to make the light more natural and healthy. It is a simple fix and many of the supplies can be purchased at discount or home improvement stores. This project can be completed in less than 15 minutes.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• 6500K daylight or cool white fluorescent bulb
• 3000K warm white fluorescent bulb
• 5000K full spectrum bluorescent bulb

What Bulbs to Buy

1. Determine which side of the kelvin scale the fluorescent lamps you already have fall on so you can purchase the correct bulb. If you have 3000K or warm white bulbs you add a 6500K bulb. If you have 6500K, get a 3000K or warm white bulb.

2. 
    

   Purchase the correct bulb. The color temperature of the bulb will be printed on the package. It does not have to be exactly 3000K or 6500K, but look for key words like warm white, warm and 2700K as indicators for 3000K bulbs. 6500K bulbs usually have key words like daylight, cool, and cool white.

3. Remove one of the old bulbs from the fixture and set it aside in a safe place. Take care not to drop fluorescent bulbs.

4. Install the new bulb into the fixture. This works best if the light fixture has a diffuser, which mixes the light to make the light more natural.

One-Bulb fixtures or fixtures without diffusers

5. 
    
   5000K Fluorescent spectrum

   Purchase a special fluorescent fixture that is specifically designed to match natural sunlight. Natural sunlight is about 5000K, which is less blue than a 5000K bulb.

6. Remove the old bulb and install the new one. The 5000K bulb will provide a natural daylight color. These bulbs are very high quality fluorescent lights and make reading easier and also reproduce colors more correctly. This bulb may be hard to find.

7. If you can't find a 5000K bulb, buy a bulb that matches the paint in the room where the light fixture is mounted. Paint colors with a red tint will be naturally accented by 3000K bulbs and colors with a blue tint will be accented by 6500K bulbs.

Tips & Warnings

• Special fluorescent bulbs can be purchased on the Internet
• Fluorescent lamps contain Mercury so handle with care. Recycle old fluorescent lamps; don't throw away in regular garbage because they contain poisonous Mercury.

References

• full spectrum bulbs
• color temp selector