Light bulb relief is here

By elizabethprata on July 6, 2024

By Elizabeth Prata

Light bulb relief is here.

EPrata photo

I'm particular about my lighting. I cannot stand fluorescent. Those bulbs give me a headache and strain my eyes and make me jumpy. Same with LED. Depending on the color temperature of the light, the harsh white LED also kills me. Incandescent only for me.

I have 7 lamps in my classroom. I keep the overhead fluorescent off. With 7 lamps turned on for 8 hours a day for 190 days, the bulbs die eventually. When incandescent light bulbs were banned (why, WHY?!) I bought a bunch before the ban was enacted. As each one blinks out, I see the lighting apocalypse creeping closer.

5 lamps. The phot makes them look harsher than they are. Occasionally I ask the kids if they want brighter, but they always say no, they like the warm, softer atmosphere.

2 more lamps. The one in the corner had burned out at the very, very end of the year. I tried rearranging with the remaining bulbs. I ending up having to get an LED from the front office, that's the one at my desk. It didn't work, too harsh.

I searched and searched and found something called "rough service" bulbs. Explanation from (where else?) Bulbs.com-

EPrata photo. NOT a rough service bulb.

Rough service lamps are designed to be resistant to vibration and other external stresses that can damage the filament of a regular lamp, causing failure. They are available in a variety of wattages and finishes. They are known for their durability and long life as compared to regular incandescent bulbs.

The filament is so delicate that it would break if the bulb was destined for rough service. What IS rough service? Bulbs.com again-

Some examples would be garage door openers, lamps near machinery, lamps near doors that slam regularly, or those used anywhere else where early failure is an issue due to a harsh usage.

So if you live next to a jackhammerer or on top of where a dump truck rotates all day, rough service INCANDESCENT bulbs are for you. Or even if your kids just slam the door all the time, lol.

I put some rough service bulbs on my Amazon wish list and a kind person only signed "J" sent me some. Thank you J! I am so sensitive to lighting and to temperature, I can't tell you how much of a relief it was to learn of rough service bulbs. And then to actually receive some.

The Merry-Go-Round would be a place for rough service light bulbs. EPrata photo

Or the Zipper

EPrata photo

I wish I wasn't so sensitive to these things. Even in other classrooms, if I go by and catch an eyeful of a harsher LED in the cool temperature range (4000K or above) I have a mini-fit and have to calm myself down. And then I ask myself the perfectly logical question, WHY can't I rearrange the world to my liking?!

At least I'll have warm incandescent lightbulbs in my classroom, all to my heart's content, thanks to "J".