5 ms·

"Green" and "energy saving" are often used to refer to florescent lighting in the UK. Florescent bulbs take some time to warm up before they reach full brightne

"Green" and "energy saving" are often used to refer to florescent lighting in the UK. Florescent bulbs take some time to warm up before they reach full brightness, which is what they are complaining about. LED bulbs like your Flux don't have a delay.

nkozyra 10y ago
Ah, thanks. The article does a poor job here, too, since it uses LED/CFL interchangeably. But if that's a known euphemism it gets a pass on this one :)
ars 10y ago
> Florescent bulbs take some time to warm up before they reach full brightness They've had instant on fluorescent bulbs for a decade now, and they don't cost more. If yours are slow switch to a different supplier.
- jrockway 10y ago
  Instant start is not what the comment you're replying refers to. Instant start is about how an arc is struck to get the gas to glow initially. The comment above is referring to how the light gets brighter as it runs longer, well after the gas begins to fluoresce. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fluorescent_lamp#Instant_start https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fluorescent_lamp#Instant_start
  - ars 10y ago
    I know, I was not referring to instant start either. (I said instant on, so I can see how that might be confusing.) The CFL's in my house are full brightness immediately. I suppose a lab could measure a change in brightness, but it's nothing that is visible to the eye.
    - thescriptkiddie 10y ago
      Zero-warmup florescent fixtures do exist, but I've never seen them installed in a home. They work by continuously running a small current through the filaments to keep the bulbs warm, which requires a separate always-on power feed in addition to switched power. Normal (instant-start) florescents start producing light instantly, and in sufficiently hot weather don't need to warm up, but if it's below freezing expect less than half of rated brightness for the first five or ten minutes. It's worse for CFL bulbs than for straight tubes, and worse still for CFL bulbs installed upside-down because the mercury settles.
      - kazinator 10y ago
        So it's like the "stand by" mode of a tube amplifier, which keeps the filaments on. Even though fluorescent lamps are called cold cathodes, "[a] cold cathode does not necessarily operate at a low temperature: it is often heated to its operating temperature by other methods, such as the current passing from the cathode into the gas." (Wikipedia, Cold Cathode). Obviously, the tech you're referring to requires a special circuit, since an ordinary light socket goes comletely open circuit when switched off. (I.e. anyone who claims to have these zero-warmup CFL's in ordinary light fixtures is confused.) I find that the slow warm-up time of regular CFL's is excellent for bathrooms. When you have to "go" at wee hours in the morning, you don't want the full glare in your sleepy eyes. Your notes about the ambient temperature effect on warm-up time are spot on. People who are not seeing the effect with CFL's may be living in a warm climate or well heated home.

nkozyra 10y ago

Ah, thanks. The article does a poor job here, too, since it uses LED/CFL interchangeably. But if that's a known euphemism it gets a pass on this one :)

ars 10y ago

> Florescent bulbs take some time to warm up before they reach full brightness They've had instant on fluorescent bulbs for a decade now, and they don't cost more. If yours are slow switch to a different supplier.

jrockway 10y ago
Instant start is not what the comment you're replying refers to. Instant start is about how an arc is struck to get the gas to glow initially. The comment above is referring to how the light gets brighter as it runs longer, well after the gas begins to fluoresce. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fluorescent_lamp#Instant_start https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fluorescent_lamp#Instant_start
- ars 10y ago
  I know, I was not referring to instant start either. (I said instant on, so I can see how that might be confusing.) The CFL's in my house are full brightness immediately. I suppose a lab could measure a change in brightness, but it's nothing that is visible to the eye.
  - thescriptkiddie 10y ago
    Zero-warmup florescent fixtures do exist, but I've never seen them installed in a home. They work by continuously running a small current through the filaments to keep the bulbs warm, which requires a separate always-on power feed in addition to switched power. Normal (instant-start) florescents start producing light instantly, and in sufficiently hot weather don't need to warm up, but if it's below freezing expect less than half of rated brightness for the first five or ten minutes. It's worse for CFL bulbs than for straight tubes, and worse still for CFL bulbs installed upside-down because the mercury settles.
    - kazinator 10y ago
      So it's like the "stand by" mode of a tube amplifier, which keeps the filaments on. Even though fluorescent lamps are called cold cathodes, "[a] cold cathode does not necessarily operate at a low temperature: it is often heated to its operating temperature by other methods, such as the current passing from the cathode into the gas." (Wikipedia, Cold Cathode). Obviously, the tech you're referring to requires a special circuit, since an ordinary light socket goes comletely open circuit when switched off. (I.e. anyone who claims to have these zero-warmup CFL's in ordinary light fixtures is confused.) I find that the slow warm-up time of regular CFL's is excellent for bathrooms. When you have to "go" at wee hours in the morning, you don't want the full glare in your sleepy eyes. Your notes about the ambient temperature effect on warm-up time are spot on. People who are not seeing the effect with CFL's may be living in a warm climate or well heated home.