Most people think if you put a Compact Fluorescent Light (CFL) into a light fixture, you will automatically save money. This is not true! And I'm here to tell you why.
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This isn't printed on the packaging or part of their 'advertisements'. Ummm. :)
Thank you for the tip Chuck.
Ive never heard that either and I would like to know where you got the information. (I double check everything before I "use" it)
When I was in school a teacher said it was cheaper to leave the classroom lights on all day than to turn them off between classes. It is good to know the 'why' behind this. Thank you.
This is common knowledge among good electricans but hardly anyone else knows it. I will look for a website which talks about this though.
Don Klipstein is the lighting guru. He knows very much about many types of lights. His web page is: members.misty.com/
Flourescent lamps are here: members.misty.com/
A quote from the above page:
"When the lamp is off, the mercury/gas mixture is non-conductive. When power is first applied, a high voltage (several hundred volts) is needed to initiate the discharge. However, once this takes place, a much lower voltage - usually under 100 V for tubes under 30 watts, 100 to 175 volts for 30 watts or more - is needed to maintain it."
What this means: a lot of energy is required to start the light, but very little is required to keep it lit.
this isn't true according to 'a popular science based show on the discovery channel'. when tested they found that to reach its max wattage and then level off was barely a blink of an eye.
Incandescent: 0.36 seconds
CFL: 0.015 seconds
Halogen: .51 seconds
LED: 1.28 seconds
Fluorescent: 23.3 seconds
so in otherwords, it only takes 0.015 seconds for a cfl to max out its startup energy.
"This isn't printed on the packaging or part of their 'advertisements'."
Of course it isn't. If it was, it would cause a few people to be confused and not buy the bulb. The CFL companies want to milk the "green cow" for all it's worth. But you have to know how CFL's work to get the most from them.
"When I was in school a teacher said it was cheaper to leave the classroom lights on all day than to turn them off between classes."
Your teacher was correct.
Just remember this: "In 15 minutes honey, we'll start saving money."
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