Silent lights

[johnridley]

I ordered electronic fluorescent ballasts from BallastWise.com, $9 each. They arrived on Friday and I have them installed. The existing lights were very noisy (sound rating "C" - recommended for "outdoor use"). Now they're very nice; totally silent, instant start and theoretically more efficient. I don't know if that's "draws less power" or "makes more light" because I didn't think to use my Kill-A-Watt on it before/after. I have another light I will convert eventually, though right now it's not making much noise. I figured I may as well buy a 3rd ballast since they have a $10 minimum shipping amount so I wasn't going to have to pay a penny more to ship the 3rd one.

Electronics are also a win if you don't like flicker; they run the lamp at several thousand hz instead of 60, so if you see flicker with an electronic ballast, you're some kind of alien or living in a very different time stream.

Electronic ballasts at Lowes are only available for the most common light types (4 foot, 30 watt tubes in 1 / 2 or 4 tube models) and START at $29.

Anyway, if you've got a noisy fluorescent that you otherwise like, this is a good option. The place ships immediately via fedex, they have excellent prices (1/3 to 1/2 local home center prices, plus more selection) and putting a new ballast in is a trivial wiring job.

Comments

[c0nsumer.livejournal.com]

I need to get some of these. I have a bad habit of buying very low cost fixtures for over my workbench and whatnot, and the hum bothers me.