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Fluorescent Bench Lights ? Davej 08-04-2008
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Posted by terry on August 5, 2008, 12:02 pm


>
> With the price of heating oil north of $4.50/gallon it is less expensive
> for me to heat with light bulbs than oil. =A0The "Buy efficient Lighting
> Myth" is just that.- Hide quoted text -
=2E
Right on: Finally somebody who agree with me!
In this neck of the woods, where most months of the year require some
heating, the idea of 'more efficient' lighting makes no sense either.
Except outside where the waste heat from a conventional incandescent
porch bulb, on all night, is wasted to all outdoors! Unfortunately
CFLs don't always like cold weather and sometimes colour of the light
is horrible!
Also as an example we have a row of six 40 watt el-cheapo (25 cents
each including sales tax) bulbs above the vanity in our windowless
bathroom. They last a long time, last time i changed one was I think,
October last year. They operate whenever anybody is in there and
provide enough 'wasted' heat to warm the bathroom, so that the 500
watt baseboard electric heater never comes on!
Using six (much clumsier looking) CFLs in that bathroom would not only
be mch more expensive (prob. at least $2 to $3 each?) but the electric
heater would have to come on more frequently; using the same amount of
electrcity.

Posted by Don Klipstein on August 6, 2008, 7:33 pm


>Don Klipstein wrote:
>
>>
>>>
>>>>Every few years I've bought a few cheap fluorescent bench lights
>>>>(usually 40watt bulbs). It now seems that the recent ones are dying.
>>>>How much do you have to spend to get a lamp that isn't garbage?
>>>
>>>It's probably the whole fixture that's garbage. Two lamp 32 watt T-8 strip
>>
>>>from an electrical supply should run around $40
>>
>> The main garbage part of those $10 or whatever dual-40-watt and
>> dual-25-watt "shop lights" is the ballast. Some call that item in many
>> of those cheap "shop lights" a "residential grade" ballast. I like to
>> call that grade of ballast a "stool specimen".
>> The grade of ballast I am thinking of has reduced efficiency and feeds
>> the bulbs a subpar waveform of current that reduces their efficiency
>> and often shortens their lives. The ballasts themselves may overheat
>> easily, especially if the fixture is not suspended in mid-air with those
>> little chains.
>> Of course, the whole fixture is cheap.
>>
>> Get the good stuff from an electrical supply shop. You will get better
>> efficiency, more light, and better reliability.
>>
>> Ad please go along with the advice to get 32 watt 4-footers with
>> electronic ballasts.
>>
>> - Don Klipstein (don@misty.com)
>
>With the price of heating oil north of $4.50/gallon it is less expensive
>for me to heat with light bulbs than oil. The "Buy efficient Lighting
>Myth" is just that.

What is your electricity rate? If your oil heater is 100% efficient,
then electricity has to cost less than 10.8 cents per KWH for resistive
electric heat to be more cost-effective than $4.50/gallon #2 fuel oil.
If you know your oil heater's efficiency, divide that into 10.8 cents per
KWH (assuming that $4.50 per gallon is correct).
$4.50/gallon sounds high to me - it usually costs less than road fuel,
since it has no need for octane/cetane ratings, additives for engines,
road fuel taxes, etc.

And how much oil do you save when it is not heating season?

And how does extra heat from your lights affect your climate control
bill when it is air conditioning season?

- Don Klipstein (don@misty.com)

Posted by on August 5, 2008, 11:59 pm




Don Klipstein wrote:

> And please go along with the advice to get 32 watt 4-footers with electronic
ballasts.

Electronic ballasts also vary widely in quality.

I had a pair of dual 32-40W lamps that were $7 with electronic
ballasts. Each lamp become brighter than normal after a few months
and then its ballast would die. After exchanging them several times,
I replaced the ballasts with some $12 magnetic ones from a hardware
store and haven't had problems since, not even much hum (class A
acoustical rating).



Posted by Don Klipstein on August 6, 2008, 7:38 pm


do_not_spam_me@my-deja.com wrote:
>
>
>Don Klipstein wrote:
>
>> And please go along with the advice to get 32 watt 4-footers with
>> electronic ballasts.
>
>Electronic ballasts also vary widely in quality.
>
>I had a pair of dual 32-40W lamps that were $7 with electronic
>ballasts.

Ballast that is good for both 32W and 40W 4-footers without a wiring
difference? I strongly doubt (to put it mildly) such a ballast provides
close to rated wattage for both while operating them in a good manner.

And $7 for a 4-foot fixture makes me suspect it will be a stool specimen
no matter how they make the ballast.

Go for "The Good Stuff" from an electrical or electrical/lighting supply
shop.

> Each lamp become brighter than normal after a few months
>and then its ballast would die. After exchanging them several times,
>I replaced the ballasts with some $12 magnetic ones from a hardware
>store and haven't had problems since, not even much hum (class A
>acoustical rating).

- Don Klipstein (don@misty.com)

Posted by Boden on August 5, 2008, 1:34 am


RBM wrote:
>
>>Every few years I've bought a few cheap fluorescent bench lights
>>(usually 40watt bulbs). It now seems that the recent ones are dying.
>>How much do you have to spend to get a lamp that isn't garbage?
>
>
> It's probably the whole fixture that's garbage. Two lamp 32 watt T-8 strip
> from an electrical supply should run around $40
>
>
I've noticed that all the shop fixtures that I've bought at HD over the
past few years have failed. They all had ballasts "made in China."

The fixtures I bought 20 to 30 years ago are still fine.

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