Dark Sky is telescope star gazing friendly. Or for looing at the
space station move overhead.

By the way, in a few years, the new addition to the space station
will mean you can spot it moving overhead in the DAYTIME!!!


And the electronic ballast will stop all the buzzing. I wouldn't
have anything else.

Definiely a winner.


On 17 Jul 2006 12:23:30 -0700, "Chuck" wrote:

Greetings all!

My wife and I are about to replace a bunch of our cheap outdoor house
lights, and came across the "Dark Sky" variety such as this one:

http://www.lightingdirect.com/index....d= dark%20sky

Our first question pertained to amount of light output. We don't have
huge demands in this area (we have been tolerably happy with our meager
"single yellow bug light bulb jelly jar" variety for eight years), but
we wonder if the hooded "dark sky" variety of fixtures essentially save
the night sky by producing almost no light at all.

Then we got concerned about the type of bulb these lights use (13w
Spiral G24q-1 4-Pin with 120V LVS Electronic Ballast). I presume these
kinds of lights are energy efficient, but I generally loathe
flourescent bulbs. I associate flouresecent fixtures with hum,
flicker, headaches, and a sterile cold lighting spectrum. I have
flourescent lights in my office, and I am so flourescent-aversive that
I absolutely never turn them on. I have no doubt there have been
improvements in flourescent technology over the last couple decades,
but would a hyper-sensitive person like me still detect a hum or
flicker?

We live WAY out in the country where there are neither lights nor
noises emanating from a nearby city or neighbors. While this fact is
what drove us to consider the "dark sky" options, it also means that
even minor hum and flicker is going to be noticeable.

Does "Dark Sky" lighting always mean "flourescent" or are there
incandescent "Dark Sky" types of lighting fixtures we should consider?
The cost savings associated with flourescent do not interest us; if we
want to save money, we are happy to turn the lights on for fewer hours
per year.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions or guidance!

Chuck