DIYbanter - View Single Post - Incandescent Bulb Ban -- Motion Detector Fixtures, Poto cell fixturesand other exotic applications

Jim Yanik

wrote in :

On Fri, 18 Jan 2008 14:13:01 -0800 (PST), terry
wrote:

On Jan 19, 12:24*am, wrote:
1. Outdoor Motion Detector Fixtures.

* *A. I have six (6) of these in various locations around my
house. *Five
are for
*pairs of the standard "flood light" type incandescent bulbs.
*They all
work fine with incandescent
*bulbs. *Not a single one will work at all when I replace the
incandescent bulbs with
*outdoor fluorescent bulbs. *

I don't understand why they wouldn't work unless it's just too cold
for the fluorescents to start up.

Question: Is it because the sensor that detects, motion and/or whether
it is daytime or night requires a certain (although small) amount of
current flow through the lamps to operate correctly while waiting to
turn on the lamps?

How can there be a current flow through the lamp if it's not turned on?
WHY would there be a current flow for an OFF lamp?

No. As far as I know the two circuits are not tied together this way.

every fluorescent is going to have some "resistance"(impedance) anyways.
the electronic "ballasts" used today have an impedance.

--
Jim Yanik
jyanik
at
kua.net