Energy

[Sarah Fox]

Hi Andrew,

> Above all do not put those new fluorescent bulbs everywhere.  That is one 
> of the biggest scams going.  They use as much energy in the split second 
> the ballast gets the light going as a comparable incandescent does in ~two 
> & a half hours.  They don't belong in closets, bathrooms, 
> little-used-bedrooms etc.  Use them only where they are left on at least 
> three hours a day (break even point for savings).

Sounds like urban legend to me.  A 110V, 20A circuit can handle 2200W of 
load, equivalent to 36.6 60W light bulbs.  In theory, the 37th bulb would 
trip the breaker.  Now, take 1.5 hr of 60W power consumption, and squeeze it 
into 1/36.6th of the time, and that would be on the threshold of tripping 
the breaker too.  That time period is 2.46 min, which is much greater than a 
"split second" of startup.  Any shorter startup time (consuming the same 
amount of energy) would trip the breaker.  In fact if you were to 
concentrate the same energy draw from that 2.46 minutes to as short as a 
second, you'd be sending a whopping 2943 amps of current to that little 
bulb, which would surely cause it to explode.  At the very least, it would 
trip the 150A main breaker.

In fact I've started up numerous little fluorescents at the same time, for 
instance when coming home and turning on all the lights.  No problems.  My 
energy bills are much, much lower since I've converted over.  In fact the 
savings are double in the summer, because I don't have as much heat (from 
incandescent bulbs) to air condition.  Winter savings are much more 
moderate, and in fact there would be no difference at all for a house that 
runs entirely on electric coil heat (the most inefficient form of electric 
heat).

I'm not sure where you heard this one.  It's not on the urban legends page. 
However, math doesn't lie.  Unless you're talking about a 2.5 minute split 
second (or in my experience, at least a half hour split second), the watts 
just don't add up, at least not inside *my* breaker panel!  It would be such 
a pity if this myth spreads too far, because there is potential to slash 
lighting costs by 75%.

My only precaution to people about the fluorescent bulbs is that they have 
trace(?) amounts of mercury in them.  Use them with caution, and recycle 
them appropriately.  Don't put them in table lamps, unless you're absolutely 
certain the lamps won't get knocked over.

I'm anxiously awaiting the cost feasibility of LED panel lighting, but I'm 
not yet convinced that they're a smart choice for home use.  (They're great 
on the boat, though!)

Peace,
Sarah