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Re: 36 inch lighting
Bob wrote:
Speaking of which, that confuses me. When folks started talking t-8, the
idea was that you could get more light with the same power consumption. Now
that 48" t-8s are everywhere, they are reduced to 32 watts.
I reply:
They always were 32 watts. The 40 watt T8s are a different animal.
There is no point in talking about lamps without talking about ballasts. The
ballast has a very significant effect on lamp performance. The point with
T-8s is that you can obtain a high ballast factor electronic ballast which
is not available for T12 lamps. This will give you more light than a T12
system.
Bob wrote:
They do put out
a little more light than a standard T-12,
I reply:
They don't put out more light than a standard T12 if the ballast factors are
the same. Philips lamps come close though. I think it is worth it to change
to electronic ballasts whether you run T12s or T8s. They are very energy
efficient, last longer, are very quiet and lamps last longer. If you are
changing ballasts anyway you are better off going with a T8 system with a
high B.F. ballast especially if you are looking for more light but the cost
benifits alone of an electronic ballast make it worth it. They only cost
about $30. T12s on conventional ballasts will consume something like 30%
more power than an electronic T8 system of equivilent light output.
Wayne