Fluorescent Lights automatically turn off/on
Fluorescent Lights automatically turn off/on
(OP)
hello,
I recently went to the conveniences in Tesco, Aldershot , UK... and the lights were out when i walked in but came on automatically as i entered.
The lights were many small fluorescent tubes.
since this is a busy shop...these lights will be OFF and ON'ing all day long..
do you think this is wrong because fluorescent lights wear out very quickly if turned ON/OFF often ?
I recently went to the conveniences in Tesco, Aldershot , UK... and the lights were out when i walked in but came on automatically as i entered.
The lights were many small fluorescent tubes.
since this is a busy shop...these lights will be OFF and ON'ing all day long..
do you think this is wrong because fluorescent lights wear out very quickly if turned ON/OFF often ?





RE: Fluorescent Lights automatically turn off/on
Back when I started my career in the 70s, many office building kept their fluorescent lamps on 24 hours a day.
RE: Fluorescent Lights automatically turn off/on
The thermal or other shock can be dealt with using soft-start approaches. This must also be considered in light of keeping the light on 10 or 100 times longer than needed, so there is already life loss by keeping the light on.
TTFN
FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies
RE: Fluorescent Lights automatically turn off/on
Dan - Owner

http://www.Hi-TecDesigns.com
RE: Fluorescent Lights automatically turn off/on
They found that the lights with the worst start-up were the old fashioned fluorescent tubes (with the heaters in the end) and old-school ballast. But even those were only 23 seconds payback for switch-off. All other lights technologies were even less. In other words, the start-up power surge is trivially small in terms of financial impact.
And with respect to excessive on-off cycles, lights are extremely cheap compared to the cost of the power they use.
RE: Fluorescent Lights automatically turn off/on
RE: Fluorescent Lights automatically turn off/on
All the arguments and urban legends that I've seen were about saveing power. Lamp life was the secondary consideration. The Mythbusters TV show addressed the issue in the same order (power, then life).
YMMV.
RE: Fluorescent Lights automatically turn off/on
RE: Fluorescent Lights automatically turn off/on
RE: Fluorescent Lights automatically turn off/on
DPC: "Wrong in what way? "
...i was thinking about the "pitting" of the cathode which supposedly happens at switch on, resulting in a reduction in its life-time, (and also meaning it becaomes more inefficient due to the pitted cathodes).
I thought lights that go on/off regularly would be better done with LEDs ?
RE: Fluorescent Lights automatically turn off/on
But the labor required to change bulbs isn't cheap...yet.
RE: Fluorescent Lights automatically turn off/on
Initial cost
Energy use
Quality of illumination
Maintenance costs
Total cost of ownership
It's always some kind of compromise and the analysis always depends on some assumptions.
RE: Fluorescent Lights automatically turn off/on
TTFN
FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies
RE: Fluorescent Lights automatically turn off/on
RE: Fluorescent Lights automatically turn off/on
Dan - Owner

http://www.Hi-TecDesigns.com
RE: Fluorescent Lights automatically turn off/on
I'll say this much for it, anyway: it's a good source for general information, and when it's written correctly it's a good source for references to more reliable and detailed sources--but, yeah, it's really a bad idea to rely on it to prove much of anything. (For example, that same CFL article has some discussion attached to it that repeats the old "CFLs have poor power factor and are therefore inefficient" factoid that's been debunked elsewhere in these forums.)
RE: Fluorescent Lights automatically turn off/on
Some Wiki topics have a 'committee' that can reject changes to the page. I've heard of this on political pages and seen it on technical pages (the committee deleting mention of a company dealing in the subject; not quite plagiarism but close).