[Greenbuilding] compact fluorescent bulbs

[Corwyn]

On Mar 19, 2007, at 14:01, Ted Inoue wrote:
> On 3/19/07, Corwyn <corwyn at midcoast.com> wrote:
>> On Mar 18, 2007, at 20:20, Jason Holstine wrote:
>>>
>>>  They're meant to be on for longer stretches--at least
>>>  4+ hours b/c the on-off cycle messes with the ballast.
>>
>> Care to cite the study for this?
>>
>> Compact fluorescent bulbs, like most bulbs, work better if they are on
>> longer, but the analysis I have read says that anything over 2 and 1/2
>> _minutes_ is an environmental win.

> What he says is close to correct.
> The lifespan of any fluorescent lamp is dependent on the on-time.  
> (some of) The manufacturers  
> have published curves that show lifespan vs. average on- 
> time. When using short on/ 
> off cycles, the lifespan drops considerably, down to 3000 
> -5000 hours from a rated 20-30,000 hours. 

All this I know.

I was hoping for a cite that 4 hours was somehow a design criteria or  
some such.  Or that 4 hours was some optimized value between bulb life  
and energy usage.  Both of which would contradict other things I have  
read,

What I am trying to avoid is the mindset of people who either leave  
their fluorescent lights on all night because 'it is better for them',  
or people who buy incandescent because they 'don't keep them on for  
more than 4 hours'.

Let me rephrase:  Does anyone have better information than that a CFL  
will surpass an incandescent if it is used for periods longer than  
2-1/2 minutes, in terms of environmental impact?

Thank You Kindly,

Corwyn

-- 
Corwyn
Kermit didn't know the half of it...
http://www.greenfret.com/
corwyn at greenfret.com