Xref: utzoo misc.consumers:4773 sci.electronics:2900
Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!husc6!bloom-beacon!mit-eddie!uw-beaver!tektronix!tekgen!tekigm2!pavelz
From: pavelz@tekigm2.TEK.COM (Pavel R. Zivny)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers,sci.electronics
Subject: Re: fluorescent lights, brain & flicker fusion
Message-ID: <2890@tekigm2.TEK.COM>
Date: 2 May 88 19:46:43 GMT
References: <530@scourge> <1182@ssc.UUCP> <27927@yale-celray.yale.UUCP> <4902@cup.portal.com> <2499@kitty.UUCP>
Reply-To: pavelz@tekigm2.UUCP (Pavel R. Zivny)
Organization: Tektronix, Inc., Beaverton, OR.
Lines: 21

In article <2499@kitty.UUCP> larry@kitty.UUCP (Larry Lippman) writes:
>	There are commercially available fluorescent lighting systems
>which use high frequency excitation.  The primary motivation for such
>use is more efficient energy utilization, and not flicker reduction,
>however.
>	Using an appropriately designed ballast and exciting a fluorescent
>fixture at say, 3 kHz, will result in energy savings of 50% or more
>over an equivalent 60 Hz fixture.  Since the excess energy goes to
>heat, not only is there electrical power reduction, but also reduced
>load on HVAC systems to remove room heat.
	I am sorry to stretch the subject so much, but could you please
describe more in detail where do the energy savings really come from ?  I
thought that the usual ballast in the fluorescent light is an inductor, which
actually has secondary task to help with starting the tube.
	Of course, the inductor itself doesn't waste but little percentage of
the wattage of the whole thing; consequently, even if the balast would be
replaced with an ideal device, savings woudn't be all that great.  The only
warm thing inside the fluorescent light fixture is the tube - does the higher
frequency change the distribution of energy between heat and light ?

	thanks 		-Pavel