Transtar were making triac dimmable fluorescent ballasts in the 1970's. They were the main manufacturer of dimmable fluorescent control gear at the time. They provide a continuous heating supply to the tube filaments. I rather wanted one at the time but couldn't afford them, so I made my own. Don Klipstein has captured an old usenet article I wrote about designing my own on his web pages...
In message , Stuart Noble writes
They do seem to have increased the lighting in the south tunnel.
Much! Commuting to and from work in the winter - as of about now requires lights in both directions but only some of which is on unlit roads. I just wish motor manufacturers would stop putting these silly bulbs in their headlights and "fog lights". It seems that we are now conditioned to use lights to announce our presence which increase the difficulty for others to see pedestrians.
Nothing wrong with the tunnel, it's the bloody underpass shortly before it that concerns me. Perfectly fine at night but an accident waiting to happen in sunlight.
I'll be aware of what you've said next time I go through (may not be for a week or two) & come back to you.
The small print on some CFLs I was given used soft-light bulbs for comparison of their brightness. They are nowhere near as bright as conventional tunsgten bulbs, especially in the minute after switch on, which generally is when I need the most light.
It's a pity Einstein isn't still around. - "Energy cannot be created or destroyed" etc. My 100w bulb may only supply 7 watts of light but it provides 100 watts of heat. If I reduce the power consumed by light bulbs in my lounge, the central heating switches on, heating my whole house, using more energy. In the UK we heat our houses for a large part of the year, especially when it's dark, why not allow the light bulbs to do it?
That is simple enough logic isn't it.
Why not drop an email to Hilary Benn about it. Don't exceed two syllables in any word. The person who reads it to him should be able to explain it in a way that most people should be able to understand.
It's doubtful that he will though.
For the same reason we don't hang radiators from the ceiling?
I trained as an engineer, and for me what I find most disheartening about this country is that a useless tosser of a bloke like that is making technical decisions.
I don't know whether or not it's a fundamental tenet of democracy that people who are completely unqualified make the decisions or it's just the way we do it. I don't even imagine the way he got the job had anything to do with democracy, who voted to give him it?
DG
Because electricity generation and distribution is only about 50% efficient. Eff all to do with the environment.
Owain
Bzzt. Heat input from lamps will still contribute to reduced (gas ) consumption by delaying the time when the thermostat energises the boiler again.
But it could come from renewables or nuclear. then it wouldn't be.
Inefficiency, bad organisation, too many people in the distribution chain (Stood in Sainsbury's with clipboards or walking round housing estates) taking a cut ?
DG
I've seen it done, I don't think it's even that uncommon.
DG
If you only need heat in your lounge then using a local heat source may be more economical, but much less so if you put it a foot below the ceiling!
Firstly, for a good part of the year you're not heating your house, and this includes the times in the heating season when it's up to heat and the thermostat has switched the heating off and secondly electricity is a high CO2 fuel so the environmental pressure is to cut the use of electricity - why do you think that electricity is something like 3x the price of gas per delivered kWh?
Shear? I think you meant 'Sheer'. The English language may well be sufficient. . . .
The problem is that people are aren't clearly told that each CFL saves at least £50 over its average lifetime in electricity costs .
How about a conservative £60 per CFL bulb over its lifetime in UK electricity cost
Assume each bulb is going to save you £10 per year on electricity and replace the most used bulbs first, then each bulb as it needs replacing.
In summer the heat energy certainly IS wasted,
And in the rest of the year dumping 80 watts of heat per100w bulb in the top
20 cm of a room is not 'effective use of electricity for heating'.
What sort of engineer are you? Just so we know whether YOU are compenent to make technical decisions on matters like this.
So, not compliant with Part L for new installations then? ;-)
Chris
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