Emily currently lives in Austin TX and spends most of her time writing and enjoying the weather. She loves to write stories and screenplays for all ages. When she's not writing, Emily is teaching horseback riding, working as a vet tech, or painting. 
Energy-efficient lighting has become more popular with the growth of the environmental movement and compact florescent bulbs have the capacity to not only save money but also provide great light. In order to choose bulbs that closely mimic natural light, you must consider the properties of natural light, the properties of bulbs on the market, and the unique needs of your home or studio.
Full-Spectrum lights have been used to treat Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) for years and more people are beginning to recognize the physical and psychological benefits from having full spectrum lights in the home.
When upgrading your home’s incandescent bulbs to energy-efficient lighting, keep in mind that most standard incandescent bulbs emit warmer light. Some that are meant to mimic daylight (Natural light) can be on the cooler side, but very few incandescent lights actually mimic natural light. You would know if you had some, because they are rare enough that you would have sought them out specifically for their light. Verilite is the only manufacturer I could find that makes these kinds of incandescent lights.
Lots of manufacturers make full-spectrum compact florescent bulbs that mimic natural light. They are easier to find and generally last longer than incandescent bulbs, too. These manufactures include, but aren’t restricted to, BlueMax, Verilux, and Ott Lite.
Full-Spectrum means that the light emitted from the bulb contains light in the full spectrum of colors at the same depth and frequency as sunlight. Natural sunlight has a light temperature of 7500K (Kelvin) with a Color Rendering Index (CRI) of 100. Generally, bulbs that have a light temperature above 5500K and a CRI rating of over 91 are considered full spectrum.
The closer you get to the temperature and CRI of sunlight, however, the closer the light looks to daylight. Although no light bulb I have found has a CPI rating of 100, there are some that come pretty close. Keep in mind the Lumen rating, too. Lumens tell you the brightness of the bulb
Although I use a full-spectrum easel lamp with an 18 watt bulb (equivalent to about a 75 watt incandescent bulb) I would not suggest this bulb for a room light, it’s simply too dim. The bulbs I used in my ceiling fan in the studio are about 30 watts (equivalent to about 125 watts as an incandescent) and have a lumen rating over 2000.
When purchasing a full-spectrum bulb, research the CRI, lumen, and Kelvin readings of bulb. Not all packages will have this information, but the websites for the company may give you more background to the product. Since most compact florescent bulbs are not designed to work on dimmers, you must consider the lighting needs of your rooms prior to installing a full-spectrum bulb.
In my studio, for example, I need bright light in order to see the true properties of colors and contrasts. In other larger rooms I might choose the same lumen rated bulbs, but smaller rooms work better with less lumens.
I suggest purchasing one or two bulbs with different lumen ratings and see how they look in different areas of your home. You may want a dimmer light in the bedroom and a much brighter light in the kitchen. Either way you can’t go wrong with full-spectrum.