Re: T5 florescents and Ultralux Ballasts

[Bill Wichers <billw at waveform_net>]

> The other big boast for HO T5s is that they are dimmable.
> I wonder if the filaments are different or if the same
> things are possible with comparable diameter and similarly
> power rated PCs?
Dimmability  (another of by trusty words ;-) is usually determined by the 
ballast rather than the bulb. PCs may well be dimmable if a dimmable 
ballast existed for them.

> I think T8s are supposed to be more energy efficient than
> PCs or HO T5s, although they certainly ack less light into
> a given space.

I think the efficiency is very, very close between T8's and PC's. There is 
a chart floating around somewhere, maybe archived on the Krib, that lists a 
bunch of different lights and efficiencies using several different 
measurements to determine the efficiencies. If I remember correctly, T8's 
were on top, then PC's, and then MH.

        -Bill


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Waveform Technology
UNIX Systems Administrator