The right light - What's New? - Verilux HappyEyes floor lamp from TechnoScout; fluorescent light bulb from Globe Electric Co

* For readers, the search for the proper lamp may be compared to the quest for the Holy Grail--unending and frustrating. Finding one the right height that directs light where it is wanted without glare can prove difficult, with bad choices leading to eye strain, dry and/or burning eyes, and other vision woes. The Verilux HappyEyes floor lamp from TechnoScout, Colonial Heights, Va., seems to represent the end of the search.

Well-anchored so as to be virtually tip-proof; flexible so that the light can be directed exactly where it is needed, thanks to its gooseneck design; sign, sleekly attractive, with an elongated flat head and subdued gray and white coloring; and, at four feet high, ideal for peering over an easy chair or the top of couch cushions, this lamp covers all the bases, and then some. The light itself is white and soothing, designed to replicate the balanced spectrum of natural sunlight so as to be mood-enhancing while boosting work performance, especially since it allows sharp visibility even when toiling up close.

The 27-watt compact fluorescent bulb, which is flicker-free and provides the equivalent of a 150-watt lightbulb, has a 5,000-hour life--almost two years if the lamp is on eight hours a day! This marvelously efficient floor lamp can be ordered online at www.technoscout.com for $129.95, with replacement bulbs available at about $28.

For table lamps, overhead fixtures, and other lighting that normally takes incandescent bulbs, there is a cheaper, more-efficient alternative. Compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs consume up to 75% less energy and are longer-lasting. A 15-watt CFL (the equivalent of a 60-watt bulb) from Globe Electric Company, Inc., Montreal, Que., Canada, runs about $9.95 wherever specialty bulbs are sold. The higher initial cost is more than made up for in the savings the bulb generates over its lifetime. Of course, you have to get used to its novel shape. (The curlicue fluorescent tubing rising from the base gives the bulb the look of an electric Dairy Queen cone.)

This symbol * indicates USA Today has tested a product for operating in full compliance with the manufacturer's specifications and to determine its performance as applicable to our readers' needs. Disadvantages, if any also are reported. Although we cannot guarantee a product, we offer the starred designation as a guide to readers.

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