By Frank S. Johnson We all grew up with incandescent light bulbs. When they burned out, the light was gone, so we replaced them. No problem! Fluorescent lamps, on the other hand, are quite different. They actually need to be replaced before they quit working entirely, but no one seems to know it, and not…
By Tom Gregg Fluorescent lamps operate at 120 volts (we use 120 volts for this example). The ballast is a transformer/current limiting devise. Example, on a 277 volt system the ballast reduces the voltage applied to the lamp to 120 volts. The ballast has an ignition voltage much higher than the rated voltage to start…
A homeowner recently asked me why my CFLs were brighter, smaller, and lasted longer than the ones she had purchased “down the street”. As I thought about how to best answer her question, my inner self was telling me that she doesn’t really want to hear all that would go into my answer. To really…
