On Thursday, 12 October 2017 18:57:39 UTC+1, wrote:
On Thursday, October 12, 2017 at 1:26:37 PM UTC-4, tabby wrote:

US fluorescent lighting is different to UK in many ways. All our historic switchstart ballasts work fine with T12, T8 and a lot of LED tubes.


That would explain a lot of your attitude. But, your electrical power is, on average, 50% more costly than power in the US - one would think that energy efficiency would would be of greater concern to you than it seems to be. We operate a 464 square meter center-hall colonial built in 1890 for US$239/month (180 GBP). And we heat in the winter and cool in the summer. This includes heat, hot water, electricity, cooking, drying, and municipal water and sewer. Yes, we use a clothes line in the summer. But energy is dirt-cheap in the US relative to the rest of the world - not to suggest we waste it, but the only incandescent lamps we own are in the chandeliers. They too, are slowly giving way to LEDs.

Peter Wieck
Melrose Park, PA

At the risk of stating the obvious, a person that buys an ancient piece of lighting isn't looking for the peak possible energy efficiency. It already has linear fluorescent lights so is quite efficient anyway. Iron ballasts on a small low power light only used some of the time consume a trivial amount.

If the OP were desperate to save another £1 a year for some reason he could always fit LED tubes with a wire fitted to short the ballasts. I can't see any compelling reason to though.


NT