Robin, You may find the Popular Mechanics article following illuminating - pun intended. http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/gadgets/tests/incandescent-vs-compact-fluorescent-vs-led-ultimate-light-bulb-test#slide-1 Be sure to click the "view larger" beneath each photo of a light bulb to see the spectral curve, which will tell you how much UV light is present. Below (less than) 400 nm is UV. 400 nm and slightly above is violet visible light, which also is high energy but some is necessary for the appearance of true colors. Please notice that even for the same type of bulb, different manufacturers/models have different spectral curves, so it is possible to pick and choose for a particular application, but you must request the spectral curve from the manufacturer. Do not expect to walk into Home Depot and find this information. Incandescent bulbs are being phased out by Federal law. It may, or may not - we will have to wait and see - still be possible to get incandescents when they are officially phased out, but finding alternatives is a good idea. I agree that the future probably is LEDs, but they still need a bit of development to have adequate spectral curves, light appearance, and reasonable cost. But they will get there eventually, assuming something better does not come along. Marc American Conservation Consortium, Ltd. 4 Rockville Road Broad Brook, CT 06016 www.conservator.com 860-386-6058 *Collections Preservation Consultation *Conservation Assessments & Surveys *Environmental Monitoring & Low-Tech Control *Moisture Management Solutions *Collections in Historic Structures *Collections Care Grant Preparation *Conservation Treatment of: Furniture Painted Wood Horse-Drawn Vehicles Architectural Interiors Decorative Objects & Folk Art Marc A. Williams, President MS in Art Conservation, Winterthur Museum Program Former Chief Wooden Objects Conservator, Smithsonian Institution Fellow, American Institute for Conservation (AIC) ----- Original Message ----- From: Robin Gabriel To: [log in to unmask] Sent: Tuesday, December 17, 2013 11:28 AM Subject: [MUSEUM-L] compact florescent bulbs in historic houses For the historic house museum folks on the list - What have you decided to do regarding using compact florescent bulbs in historic lamps and in the rooms of your historic houses? Are they safe to use in situ? Thanks, Robin ------------------------------ Robin H. Gabriel Executive Director Kaminski House Museum 1003 Front Street Georgetown, SC 29440 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ To unsubscribe from the MUSEUM-L list, click the following link: http://home.ease.lsoft.com/scripts/wa-HOME.exe?SUBED1=MUSEUM-L&A=1 ========================================================= Important Subscriber Information: The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes). If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).