What if your only option for outdoor area lighting was linear fluorescent? « on: October 18, 2021, 02:12:06 AM » Author: WorldwideHIDCollectorUSA
If you wanted to light up your yard at night with linear fluorescent tubes instead of mercury vapor, metal halide, high pressure sodium, CFL, and LED yardblasters, which linear fluorescent light source would you choose and why? If I had to do the same, I would choose to use multi-lamp F36T8/F40T12 preheat fixtures, multi-lamp F65T12/F58T8 preheat fixtures, and preheat HO fluorescent fixtures because I enjoy having the flexibility of choosing my own area light's color temperature and CRI to my liking and watching preheat fluorescents blink to life because HID fixtures do not offer that much flexibility for color temperature and CRI options that linear fluorescents do.
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Desire to collect various light bulbs (especially HID), control gear, and fixtures from around the world.

DISCLAIMER: THE EXPERIMENTS THAT I CONDUCT INVOLVING UNUSUAL LAMP/BALLAST COMBINATIONS SHOULD NOT BE ATTEMPTED UNLESS YOU HAVE THE PROPER KNOWLEDGE. I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY INJURIES.

	Re: What if your only option for outdoor area lighting was linear fluorescent? « Reply #1 on: October 18, 2021, 05:17:44 AM » Author: AngryHorse
Trouble with fluorescent, their so long!, the best would be tri-phosphor 5 foots of 58 watt, I’ve noticed over the years, not only with the ones I’ve used at home, but in works lighting it’s the 5 foots that were the brightest! However, there’s no practical lanterns that houses 5 foot tubes without being susceptible to wind outside!, and the genuine made ones for 80 watt tubes were stupid huge!, not ideal for yard lighting. I have seen though, five foot weather packs mounted on the under eaves of bars/pubs here and they light the area pretty good. Lower smaller wattages like the 4s and 2s in T8 don’t perform well outside in British winters, so the first cold night you got, your yard lighting would dim down to unacceptable levels with the cold night air!, probably why 2 foot fluorescent street lighting here was always 40 watts per tube?
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	Re: What if your only option for outdoor area lighting was linear fluorescent? « Reply #3 on: October 18, 2021, 04:03:10 PM » Author: AngryHorse
A 55 watt PL-L inside a Dewar jacket probably would work the best?
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Current: UK 230V, 50Hz
Power provider: e.on energy
Street lighting in our town: Philips UniStreet LED (gen 1)
Longest serving LED in service at home, (hour count): Energetic mini clear globe: 57,746 hrs @ 15/12/24

Welcome to OBLIVION

	Re: What if your only option for outdoor area lighting was linear fluorescent? « Reply #4 on: October 19, 2021, 02:03:57 AM » Author: xmaslightguy
I already have some. F32T8 with electronic ballasts. If I was doing it again/now (& dident have a lifetime supply of F32's), I'd be tempted to go with F28T5 since its less power. But simple fact is T8 & instant-start is the best choice when you count efficiency & reliable starting in winter cold. I'm not sure how T5's would even do..cold might trip the EOL protection (like it can sometimes do with T8 programmed or rapid start) F40T12 / RS (magnetic) sucks in cold .lol. So does F96 slimline (again magnetic .. electronic would likely fix the issue) T12 HO is simply way too much power used/too bright for my need
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	Re: What if your only option for outdoor area lighting was linear fluorescent? « Reply #5 on: October 20, 2021, 04:58:16 PM » Author: WorldwideHIDCollectorUSA
Here in Los Angeles, since we have snowless winters, any type of linear fluorescent tube can be used for outdoor security lighting.
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Desire to collect various light bulbs (especially HID), control gear, and fixtures from around the world.

DISCLAIMER: THE EXPERIMENTS THAT I CONDUCT INVOLVING UNUSUAL LAMP/BALLAST COMBINATIONS SHOULD NOT BE ATTEMPTED UNLESS YOU HAVE THE PROPER KNOWLEDGE. I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY INJURIES.

	Re: What if your only option for outdoor area lighting was linear fluorescent? « Reply #6 on: October 21, 2021, 01:18:58 AM » Author: Medved
Quote from: xmaslightguy on October 19, 2021, 02:03:57 AM If I was doing it again/now (& dident have a lifetime supply of F32's), I'd be tempted to go with F28T5 since its less power. But simple fact is T8 & instant-start is the best choice when you count efficiency & reliable starting in winter cold. I'm not sure how T5's would even do..cold might trip the EOL protection (like it can sometimes do with T8 programmed or rapid start) Well, the T5's are not designed to be used without any cover. A cover maintaining 35degC around the tube will make them operating at really best efficacy. This is principal difference, in the way how the lamps are designed, from practically all the earlier lamps, T12, as well as T8. The T12 and T8 were designed to have the cold normal ambient air around (so for freezing temperatures you need special lamps designed for that freezing temperatures but use them in rather common fixtures). With T5, it is the job of the fixture to make sure the temperature around the lamp is around that 35degC in the intended environment, so for freezing weather you then need to use special fixtures but use common tubes. That include special ballasts, which are able to start and warm up the tubes from that temperature and not get confused (mainly their protection features) by the lamp behavior while such cold and not warmed up yet.
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	Re: What if your only option for outdoor area lighting was linear fluorescent? « Reply #8 on: October 25, 2021, 09:31:27 PM » Author: xmaslightguy
Quote from: Medved <...> With T5, it is the job of the fixture to make sure the temperature around the lamp is around that 35degC in the intended environment, so for freezing weather you then need to use special fixtures but use common tubes. <...> If I had an enclosed 1xF28T5 fixture, I'd be tempted to put it up outside & test how it did this winter. .LOL. Even with a standard ballast, it'd probably fire up most nights, & being enclosed, I think the tube should generate enough heat to reach normal brightness (even being well below freezing outside).. Now on those really bitter-cold nights - single digits & below zero (F), I'd expect the EOL protection might very well trip. But overall it probably would be be a workable thing....
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ThunderStorms/Lightning/Tornados are meant to be hunted down & watched...not hidden from in the basement!