fluorescent light question
in [Frugal Living]
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From: Mick on 21 Mar 2007 13:19 In old style long fluorescent tubes, you had the tube plus the starter & the choke/ballast. What's happened to the starter & the choke/ballast in the current compact models? Also I had heard that the old style tubes were more efficient than regular bulbs. But if you frequently turn on & off then they are no longer efficient because the starter takes a lot of electricity while starting the light. Because of this it was not advised to use these in places like toilets etc, where you don't keep them on for long periods after turning them on. Is this still true for the CFL's?
From: TKM on 21 Mar 2007 13:56 "Mick" <mick(a)pal.com> wrote in message news:etrpeg$ofk$1(a)news.datemas.de... > In old style long fluorescent tubes, you had the tube plus > the starter & the choke/ballast. > > What's happened to the starter & the choke/ballast in the > current compact models? > > Also I had heard that the old style tubes were more > efficient than regular bulbs. But if you frequently turn > on & off then they are no longer efficient because the > starter takes a lot of electricity while starting the light. > Because of this it was not advised to use these in places > like toilets etc, where you don't keep them on for long > periods after turning them on. Is this still true for the > CFL's? You've gotten some mixed information. Here's the situation with regard to current fluorescent lamps -- - Starter, choke/ballasts (electromagnetic ballasts) have been replaced by electronic ballasts that operate the lamps on high-frequency power (typically 25 kHz and higher). That makes the lamps more efficient by a few per cent and allows the ballasts to be small in size and low cost. Compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) with integral ballasts, which are the kind designed to screw into standard medium base sockets, are a good example of an electronic ballast application that takes advantage of the small size and low cost. - Frequent starting used to make a difference in fluorescent lamp life; but it's no longer a big factor. Electronic ballasts are designed with starting circuits which carefully start the lamp plus fluorescent lamps have longer rated lives anyway. CFLs are typically rated for 10,000 hours; linear lamps for 20,000 hours or more. - It's a myth that any type of electric lamp draws significant power when it's turned on. Incandescent lamps draw a higher current for a fraction of a second; but there's not enough power in that pulse to make a difference in anyone's electric bill even with a hundred lamps in the house. As a lighting designer, I now treat fluorescent lamps as I treat incandescent lamps. If the light is not needed, turn them off for both cost and energy savings. A house which was built new four years ago and for which I designed the lighting has 75 fluorescent lamps -- most are used for indirect room lighting on gloomy days. But I put fluorescent lamps in the bathrooms, closets and other areas where the lamps are turned off and on numerous times each day. There have been no lamp failures of either the linear or CFL types to date. TKM
From: Zilbandy on 21 Mar 2007 14:06 On Wed, 21 Mar 2007 22:49:12 +0530, "Mick" <mick(a)pal.com> wrote: >But if you frequently turn >on & off then they are no longer efficient because the >starter takes a lot of electricity while starting the light. >Because of this it was not advised to use these in places >like toilets etc, where you don't keep them on for long >periods after turning them on. That's bunk. The energy used to start them is not that much. It's not that much, because it only uses the higher energy for a few seconds at the most. -- Zilbandy
From: Jeff on 21 Mar 2007 14:15 <snip> > > As a lighting designer, I now treat fluorescent lamps as I treat > incandescent lamps. If the light is not needed, turn them off for both cost > and energy savings. A house which was built new four years ago and for > which I designed the lighting has 75 fluorescent lamps -- most are used for > indirect room lighting on gloomy days. But I put fluorescent lamps in the > bathrooms, closets and other areas where the lamps are turned off and on > numerous times each day. There have been no lamp failures of either the > linear or CFL types to date. Whats the current technology for linear flourescents? My Dad put in linear single tube fluorescents all the way around the living room in an alcove. These lamps have the twist in starters. The wiring has deteriorated (brittle) and I'd like to either rewire these or replace them if the technology has moved on. I suspect it was these old fluorescents that were known for the sizable turn on surge. Jeff > > TKM > > > >
From: Andrew Gabriel on 21 Mar 2007 17:07
In article <0DeMh.16044$Jl.10498(a)newsread3.news.pas.earthlink.net>, Jeff <dont_bug_me(a)all.uk> writes: > Whats the current technology for linear flourescents? My Dad put in > linear single tube fluorescents all the way around the living room in an > alcove. These lamps have the twist in starters. The wiring has > deteriorated (brittle) and I'd like to either rewire these or replace > them if the technology has moved on. The current technologies for linear flourescents vary widely by country. The OP and first response look like they are from different continents with completely different mains voltages, where usage of the technologies are consequently quite different. You need to qualify such questions and responses by the country, or you're talking at cross purposes. > I suspect it was these old > fluorescents that were known for the sizable turn on surge. No fluorescents have ever had a sizable switch on surge. It's an often quoted myth. -- Andrew Gabriel [email address is not usable -- followup in the newsgroup] |