Light Color

• Long lamented for the greenish light that they once cast, fluorescent bulbs are now manufactured in a variety of color spectrums. Daylight bulbs cast a natural blue light, while a cool white provides excellent task lighting in an office setting where color shift of the décor is not important. A warm white bulb shifts toward the red end of the spectrum, casting a warmer light that doesn't affect the home's colors as much.
  
  

Brightness

• The luminosity of fluorescent bulbs is a measure of the sensed brightness of light in the area in which the bulb is used. It is measured in lumens, and this figure is published for all bulbs. A fluorescent bulb with a lower lumen measurement provides the same bright light in a smaller area as a bulb with a higher rating would provide in a larger space.
  
  

Form

• Most people are familiar with the long, tubular fluorescent bulbs, but this type of lamp is now manufactured in a variety of forms. Fluorescent bulbs are now created to fit in standard screw-in lamps, to work in three-way fixtures, and twisted into a variety of other shapes to fit specialty fixtures.