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Home automation protocols [OT] CFL / LED



Randy Cole wrote:
> How much extra power does a CFL uses when starting up?

Mythbusters looked at this a while ago and found the inrush current to 
be negligible relative to the power savings, with a break even point 
occurring at just a few seconds, after which the CFL consumes less than 
an incandescent.


> If you turn a CFL on & off frequently, how much does this shorten
> it's life?

I think the same Mythbusters test covered this too. I don't recall the 
results. Though given that the CFL heats up less, it might suffer the 
effects of thermal cycling less.


> How does one determine which bulbs have good color spectrum? (I'd
> like to see a graph on the side of the box, like on old headphones).

Sure, but even a single color temperature number is probably more 
information than most consumers care about, instead preferring 
qualitative terms like warm, cool, full spectrum.


> Where can I buy US made CFLs?

Don't know, but there is speculation that the Chinese made bulbs have 
poor longevity, with bulbs made 5 years ago outlasting the current products.


> Do certain brands of CFLs cause more RF interference?

Undoubtedly. Many modern CFLs use electronic ballasts (circuitry to 
produce the high voltage needed by the bulb), and I'd expect the amount 
of RF emitted to vary depending on the quality of the circuitry. There 
should be an upper limit that all bulbs stay under so that they don't 
interfere with other common products (radios, etc.), but less likely to 
be controlled is the amount of noise they couple to the power line, 
which is why some bulbs can cause problems for home automation protocols 
like X-10 and INSTEON that depend on power line signals.


> How much UV do CFLs produce? UV damages the retina.

That's a pretty well understood safety concern, so I have confidence 
that the bulb coatings are designed to keep UV at safe levels.


> Where can I buy cost-effective LED lighting?

Right now you can't, if you want an LED bulb that produces comparable 
light to commonly used incandescent bulbs. You can find LED bulbs for 
$10 to $20 that produce about the equivalent light of a 20 W incandescent.


> Why can't LED christmas lights be used permanently?

Probably because it is cheaper to design and get them UL rated for 
temporary use.

  -Tom
-- 
Tom Metro
Venture Logic, Newton, MA, USA
"Enterprise solutions through open source."
Professional Profile: http://tmetro.venturelogic.com/






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