Don't forget about the ballest. Like bulbs they also ahave a life span. As
they get old your bulbs may not last as long.



Alan Zucker zone 6b
You're never to old to learn. You can learn from both beginner and expert.






dalecochoy wrote:

Value. They were rated 90W and were 6,000 hour bulbs. Fairly
expensive. Well, after 9 months one burned out!

Dale

The life rating on of a bulb is usually derived from bulbs that get turned
on once and then eventually die. This is the perfect situation. The worst
thing you can do to a bulb is turn it on and off. Turning it on and off
actually adds a mechanical stress to the filament. In other words with
each on and off the filament actually moves. Move a wire back and forth
too much and what happens? It breaks. So you will see bulbs go sooner in
locations where they are consistently on and off. Think about it. How
many times has a bulb just gone off on in the middle of being lit as
compared to walking in a room and turning the light on and poof!

As far as the problem with your voltage? The electric company usually
regulates both the voltage and the frequency pretty well. At least in the
US. I actually have a clock I made that gets it's time base off the 120hz
the power runs at. It keeps pretty good time! I can see the possibility
of low voltage but not high. I am not talking about spikes due to motors
in your house or nearby or lightning strikes in the area. These can harm
items in your house, I agree. A consistently high voltage however is hard
to believe. I am not sure what the gain would come from? If this is the
issue then your not going to be the only house on the block with the
problem.

Len




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