Many consumers gearing up to make the switch to energy efficient CFLs are overloaded with the past stereotypes about fluorescent lighting. One of the biggest concern in regards to everyday living is that CFLs cause headaches. Many consumers are unnecessarily worried that they have to choose between saving money on their electricity bill and living headache free.

According to a recent article on The Daily Green many experts say that the issue is being overblown and that there is no scientific evidence that CFLs cause headaches. “As far as I’m aware there is no association between headaches and the use of compact fluorescent lamps,” says Phil Scarbro of Energy Federation Incorporated (EFI), a leading distributor of energy efficiency-related products — including many CFLs.

The article goes on to state that Industry experts acknowledge that exposure to older, magnetically ballasted fluorescent bulbs could cause headaches due to their noticeable flicker rate.

Dave Naterali, TCP’s Director of Research & Development, states that Older, electromagnetic fluorescent lighting ballasts from the 1960s commonly caused problems, generally associated with a perception of flicker. These included drowsiness, headaches, migraines, and difficulty in concentration. The perceived flicker was caused by the lamps response to the frequency of the input power coming from the building’s electrical outlets and switches. The incoming power being supplied at 60Hz and was doubled to 120Hz to power the CFL. This means the lamp was powering on and off at a rate of 120 cycles per second. While the human eye could not consciously see the flicker, the effect of the pulses being sensed by the retina in the eye.

Newer, electronic ballasts use transistors to boost the input from 60Hz to the frequency range of 25 to 40 kHz. People who had problems with older electromagnetic ballast fluorescent lights seem to be less affected by compact fluorescent lights (CFL) and other fluorescent lights which use electronic ballasts. These ballasts use transistors to boost the input 60-Hz power to the frequency range of 25 to 40 kHz virtually eliminating the eye strain experienced with electromagnetic ballasts.