Important part with violets - is to have consistent conditions. The 2 48" fluorescent tubes that Fred uses give you a good size area with even light distributrion. Edges are unavoidable - and you can place there the plants they requie less light and turn them on a regular basis to avoid asymmetry. With CFLs - besides the significant cost increase - you will have an uneven distribution of the light intensity. The idea of mixing warm and cool CFL is valid IMHO, but it will be hard to grow nice rosettes. Probably if you will be turning all your plants all the time it can work. The way to determine how many you need - you get the the light meter - you can acqure one somewhere in $30-35 range - measure the light intensity at 12" from he CFL and mark how it diminishes when you move your meter along your shelf. When it drops 50% - measure the horizontal distance, multiply it by 2 - it is the place for another CFL. Good Luck Irina

Last year I bought some exterior sconce type lights at Costco (as of last week the had them again) that I love the style but HATE the light they give off. They have pretty crackle glass, open at the bottom and you don't see any lightbulbs. I figured they would be super easy to clean. The lightbulbs are tiny things up in the "ceiling" of the fixture and are supposed to last for ages, so I think they are LED fixtures. Problem is I HATE the color of the light they give off. My porch still has a regular old fashioned type fixture/bulbs and that light is much warmer and yellower compared to the ones describe above. Since both the sconces and the old porch light are on the same switch, they are always on together and the difference in the color of the light they give off really bugs me. The color of the LEDS may have improved, but not enough for me.

You may not agree, but my personal preference is for good old fashioned (some people would probably say "ugly" ;-) linear fluorescent ceiling fixtures. We work in our kitchen. Its purpose is to prepare good meals. Seeing is more important to me than having attractive light fixtures (I don't really think nice fluorescents are necessarily unattractive, but I know that some people approach them with certain preconceived notions). I find that good linear fluorescents provide ample light for my (our) middle-aged eyes, and the evenness of the light combined with some indirect light reflected from the ceiling reduces shadow. Of course, they have to be placed correctly or you WILL be in your own shadow. Combine them with undercabinet lights and you have good lighting, IMO. I've seen pictures of setups with linear fluorescents either behind a cove or on top of cabinets, bounced off a white ceiling. I can't imagine that's as efficient as combined direct and indirect, but I'm still a strong proponent of at least some indirect lighting. Again, it reduces shadowing. This was a principle of (IMO) sensible lighting designers already 50 or 60 years ago, but many seem to have forgotten it in the last 10 or 20. (Of course I'm not a lighting designer myself, so perhaps I'm talking through my hat.) Recessed lights, OTOH, have zero indirect component by design and are a near point source, so they produce very strong shadows. This kind of light is great for bringing out the grain of wood and the texture of expensive counters. Thus cans are ideal for people who entertain in their kitchens, but seldom do the actual work of food preparation there. They are also good for highlighting decorative accents and room features. However, cans are one of the least efficient ways to provide general illumination of a space. Because they're lousy at light distribution, you need a LOT of them. This is an energy consumption disaster with incandescents; at least using fluorescent cans (or retrofits) is an improvement in that regard. But they are still not as efficient as surface mounted linear fluorescents. Most of the glossy home improvement magazines you find at the counter of the big box stores show recessed lighting, or did the last time I looked at one. I think this may be one reason that a lot of people don't think of much else. (Also, from what I hear, contractors seem to assume that everyone wants them.) Perhaps some combination of these lighting systems could produce a winner for you - a few cans in strategic areas, some direct/indirect linear fluorescents over most of the food preparation areas, and indirect flos on top of cabinets. I recommend modern electronic ballasts and 3000K, 82+ CRI lamps for warm light, but some like 3500K for whiter lght. Which works for you depends to some extent on the colors you use in your kitchen. Again, hope this helps. Best to you in your project.

On Feb 9 2009 I purchased 5 two packs of the FEIT Electric ECObulbs Dimmable Compact Fluorescent 23W=100. In the first week 3 fried. I spoke with their customer support and explained what I have and on their suggestion I replaced my 1000W digital dimmer switch with a 600W mechanical dimmer switch. I went back to Home Depot and they cheerfully replaced the bulbs. Since then 5 more have failed. For those of you that haven't done the math thats 80% failure in eleven days. today is Feb 21 2009. Unless FEIT can come up with a reasonable explanation for their products dismal performance I will be returning all 10 and going back to incandescent.