Fluorescent Lamps

Common uses and advantages

Fluorescent lamps give light from a large glowing surface rather than a small intense source. These lamps are commonly used in situations which call for general illumination at an even level such as offices, classrooms, retail stores, hallways, and cafeterias.

The powder coating in the lamps controls the color characteristics. Fluorescent lamps are so popular that manufacturers are able to make available many specialty colors as well as the most common office colors of cool white and warm white.

Other options to consider

In most office and classroom applications there is no better lighting system than fluorescent. Before changing lighting hardware you should make sure that the area is not overlit or that the lamps are on for no more time than necessary. Perhaps delamping or installing occupancy sensors should be the first step.

Tri-Phosphor Lamp If standard 40 Watt or 34 Watt lamps with magnetic ballasts are in use it may be cost effective to change to electronic ballasts which drive triphosphor T8 lamps. This is the most energy efficient fluorescent lighting system available. An added bonus is that triphosphor lamps do an excellent job of lighting objects in their true colors.

In settings with high ceilings (above about 20 feet) such as factories or gymnasiums it may be cost effective to change to an HID lighting system such as metal halide or high pressure sodium. This change requires a new lighting design and new luminaires but the energy requirement can be half of the fluorescent system.

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