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Posted by LouB on September 23, 2008, 4:48 am
Don Klipstein wrote:
> In article
> Charles Bishop wrote:
>
>> A building I'm working at has some brick lights - j-boxes recessed into a
>> wall, and a cover plate on them - that illuminate walkways. The owners
>> have changed the incandescent bulbs to fluorescent.
>>
>> I saw a note on the cover of a light that said the tested voltage was 130V.
>>
>> Would a fluorescent light (small twisty bulb) be able to take 130V? Will
>> this voltage affect the life of the bulb?
>>
>> I haven't tested to see if the voltage is indeed 130V, Thought I'd ask
>> here first in case there was something else I should look at, such as the
>> model number of the bulb.
>
> I would ask the CFL manufacturer. And if you get bad news, I would ask
> other CFL manufacturers.
>
> And I would only use ones that are UL listed, have an FCC ID, and the
> Energy Star logo, preferably of "Big 3" brands (GE, Sylvania and Philips).
> Especially important is UL listing as "self ballasted lamp". This is
> "reasonable assurance" that the CFL will not start a fire if it has
> failure of its electronics.
>
> FCC ID is another regulatory hurdle that is actually required of CFLs
> with electronic ballasts, yet I have seen many (all being dollar store
> stool specimens) without this. And I have known a dollar store stool
> specimen to have been hit with a recall for having its plastic ballast
> housing not being made of flame-retardant plastic.
>
> "Energy Star" logo is some indication of quality.
>
> "Big 3" brand means someone stands to lose big in a lawsuit if one of
> their lightbulbs burns a building down.
>
> =================
>
> Meanwhile, I have found it to be a common complaint for household line
> voltage to be high - like 126 to 130 volts. One friend of mine had
> household voltage averaging 127-128 volts - and he and his neighbors
> called the power company to get the voltage cranked down a little. My
> apartment in the complex that I used to live in had voltage averaging
> 124 volts. My current line voltage as I type this is 125 volts (it has
> been as low as 121 before). CFL manufacturers should be taking this into
> account.
>
> One more thing: This sounds like the fixtures are enclosed. I advise a
> couple of things to reduce overheating of the CFLs:
>
> 1. Use ones rated for heat-hellholes such as recessed ceiling fixtures.
> That includes Philips triple arch SLS/"Marathon" units of 15, 20, and 23
> watts and non-dimmable. The 15 watt one is especially good for such
> fixtures.
>
> 2. Otherwise, avoid ones over 13 watts. 18 watt spirals may be OK - they
> usually hold up in ceiling fan fixtures. I would avoid 14, 15, 19 and 20
> watt spirals, especially 15 and 20 watt spirals, since sometimes their
> ballasts heat up more. 13 and 18 watt wattages came about largely from
> improvements in the efficiency of the ballasts - so the ballasts heat up
> less.
>
> ============================
>
> When line voltage is high, I would avoid magnetic ballasts. Excessive
> voltage tends to have only harm to an electronic ballast being shorter
> life and greater odds of blowing out with an audible pop sound. Magnetic
> ballasts with moderate or moderately severe overvoltage can overheat and
> possibly catch fire. Magnetic ballasts for CFLs in my experience lack
> "Class P" thermal protection.
>
> So far, I have yet to see a spiral CFL with a magnetic ballast.
>
> Don Klipstein (don@misty.com)
Wow, lots of good info. Thank You:-))
Lou
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