Perhaps you should reconsider using screw-in fluorescent lamps. I have compared them with incandescent lamps that they are advertised to replace, for example, a 27 watt fluorescent lamp with a 100 watt incandescent lamp. The price was $7 versus $0.45. The observed screw-in fluorescent lamp lifetimes were consistently less than 400 hours (the claimed lifetime is about 9000 hours) and the measured incandescent lamp lifetime is about 400 hours. I have also measured the light output from screw-in fluorescent lamps and found the output after the first 40 hours to be about 40 % of that of the incandescent lamp (screw-in fluorescent lamp light output usually drops after a few hours of use). It also may cost $0.50 to dispose of each fluorescent lamp in your community..
Using $0.12 per kilowatt hour as the cost of electricity, the cost of using a 27 watt fluorescent lamp is $7 + $0.12 * 27 * 400 = $8.30 and the cost of using a 100 watt incandescent lamp is $0.45 +$0.12 * 100 * 400 = $5.25 . To reduce the rf emissions may require a metal luminare, metal conduit, and a filter. An incandescent lamp has a lower cost of ownership without considering the reduced light output, the disposal cost, and the mitigation of rf emissions. I think using incandescent lamps cost less than screw-in fluorescent lamps. Best regards Bob Schlentz [email protected] Ken Javor wrote: >General question for the group. > >I have recently purchased several different types of fluorescent >replacements for incandescent bulbs. These would all appear to have >electronic ballasts, because of size. They claim to meet FCC part 18, but >there are disclaimers about moving the things if they cause rfi in the AM >band. Well, they cause terrible rfi in the AM band, and in many cases they >cannot be moved, because the radiation arises not just from the bulb itself, >but from the power wiring. Just a few bulbs pollute a large home. And by >pollution I don't just mean CE, but also RE from the power wires, so it >isn't just a matter of plugging into a different branch. What is going on >here? What is the point of enforcing conducted emissions on a power supply >when lamps are allowed to emit? I understand that the cost of a filter >compared to that of a power supply is a small fraction compared to the cost >of a filter relative to one of these bulbs ($5- $10) but on the other hand >these bulbs dissipate 5-15 Watts - it ought to be easier to filter these >than a 200 Watt power supply. > >Comments? > >Ken Javor > > > > This message is from the IEEE Product Safety Engineering Society emc-pstc discussion list. Website: http://www.ieee-pses.org/ To post a message to the list, send your e-mail to [email protected] Instructions: http://listserv.ieee.org/listserv/request/user-guide.html List rules: http://www.ieee-pses.org/listrules.html For help, send mail to the list administrators: Ron Pickard: [email protected] Scott Douglas [email protected] For policy questions, send mail to: Richard Nute: [email protected] Jim Bacher: [email protected] All emc-pstc postings are archived and searchable on the web at: http://www.ieeecommunities.org/emc-pstc
