Energy FAQ

Question:

Considering replaceing household incandescents with CFL. However, the possibility of lightning damage worries me. Are the solid state ballasts in these lamps susceptible or resistant to surge damage?

Response:

> Considering replaceing household incandescents with CFL. > However, the possibility of lightning damage worries me. > Are the solid state ballasts in these lamps susceptible or resistant to > surge damage?

You mean that with all of the alternative energy sources you have in your garage, that you don’t have a whole house surge protector?

Response:

> Considering replaceing household incandescents with CFL. > However, the possibility of lightning damage worries me. > Are the solid state ballasts in these lamps susceptible or resistant to > surge damage?

I dunno,but we’ve had a few outages,brownouts,and whatnot lately,and all of the CFL’s around here seem to have survived,but so did everything else,so I guess it wasn’t all that bad afterall. A whole house surge arrestor is a good investment,and the few i’ve seen aren’t even that expensive.(~$50) I’m sure there are better/more expensive ones around. Also,the CFL’s didn’t seem to care about the MSW inverter either..But,then again,they do use a switching supply/ballast inside.Heck they’ll probably even run off of DC,aslong as the voltage is in-range.(~170-ish Volts?)

Response: