Hawk writes:
On 5/3/2020 6:47 PM, wrote:
I just read the instructions (dumb idea, I know) for some fluorescent
fixtures I bought sometime back, for my shop. Anyway, it says the
fixture is only for 2700K, 3500K, and 4100K tubes. Why does the
fixture/ballast care what phosphor is in the tubes? I was planning on
using 6500K tubes (like I have in similar fixtures). If there is good
reason to respect these instructions, I'll probably change them over
to LEDs but it's a lot of tubes to trash. The coldest white LED tubes
I've seen are 5000K. I'd prefer 6500K but 5000K would probably work.
You'd probably have a greater response in the alt.home.repair group but
Highly unlikely, even assuming one can wade through all the non-topic garbage.
as far as I know from working with lamps and fixtures for many years,
the K value does not have a major impact on energy usage. I would not
know why they establish a limit.
The ballast care about the power consumption (watts) of the tube(s), which
typically range from 65 watts to 110 (usually labled HO, or high-output on
the bulb) watts. The color temperature doesn't generally change the wattage
requirements, but other factors (producing more light with weaker phosphor)
may require the bulb to consume more power. The ballast will be labeled as
to how many watts it supports and the bulbs will list their power consumption.