cfl compact flourescent

[woodburner]

Much talk and marketing is going on regarding compact flourescent lamps and the replacing of incandes and scants. I have started and yes i can see the wattage rating can understand the efficiencies regarding usage, but have not been able to find much info on overall usage as it relates to starting currents and repeated on/off cycles.
Does anyone have any info on the starting current (surge current) needed to start the two types of bulbs or is it negligable? The only downside I have seen other than the shape (they may not fit) is cold starting and CFL's is slow - they take a while to acheive full brightness.
wb

[12vman]

I don't believe that there is a start surge like a standard bulb but I do know that CFL's don't like to be turned on/off a bunch..
~Don

[John_P]

The frequent cycling of CFL's can shorten life, but practially only if turned ON/OFF more than 20 to 30 times per day, and then the life expectancy penalty is only about 15%.

With CFL's the initial start-up, or surge of electricity, is very small and only lasts for a millisecond or so. In fact, a study by Seattle Power and Light showed that a demand meter could not detect this start-up load as a measurable spike. You'll use much more energy by keeping the light on when not in use.

Of larger concernt to me is Jeff Yago's reports in BHM that current Chinese-made CFL's are failing after short times in service. They can also take up to 2 minutes to reach fullbrightness in cold temperatures, and contain toxic mercury, thus posing an environmental burden on disposal.

[jott]

I would expect CFL to be far less then an incandescent; when the filament is cold it has a very low resistance so lots of current flow. They biggest problem with most the of the cheap CFL are they produce lots of noise on the power line, not a problem for most but if you have sensitive electronics it is very annoying.

As for everyone worrying about mercury the amounts are so small it dose not pose a significant health risk. As for the environment most the mec that gets there is from coal fired power plants so using less power has a net reduction on the amount of mec in the environment.

As for Jeff Yago’s article I felt it was greatly lacking. Although many of the cheap CFLs are poorly made, good quality ones are available. If you are buying new fixtures many commercial models are very high quality and do not use the cheap disposable ballast. Also dimming ballast are available that let you dim to 1% now. Technology has come a very long way with CFLs in the last few years. There are many options out there.