LIGHTING

FLUORESCENT LAMPS

Fluorescent lamps use phenomenon of electro-and photoluminescence as result of electrical discharge in inert gases and low
pressure vapor mercury.
The lamp is constructed from a cylindrical glass tube. At the ends there
are two electrodes and the tube is filled with low pressure inert gas and a
few milligrams of mercury. The electrodes are from Wolfram and they are in
spiral, having a high thermoelectrical emission at high temperature.
(900C).
The inert gas can be Argon, at low pressure. It is easy to ionize and
thus it results an wavelength emission on the mercury spectrum, that is
ultraviolet, 1=184nm and 2=253nm). These radiations are converted in
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visible radiation by a luminofor on the inside wall of the lamp.

Mercury is a metal that is liquid at normal room temperature, but

inside an operating lamp (which is hot), the mercury is in a vapour
form, but the pressure is extremely low only about 0.0007% of
atmospheric pressure.
Fluorescent tubes (and CFLs) are technically referred to as 'low
pressure gas discharge lamps'.
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Operation

1. When the lamp is started, the cathodes are heated for a short
time (1 s) in order to heat the cathodes so they release electrons.
2. A high voltage is then applied across the two cathodes and a
discharge is created as the gas and mercury vapour conducts the
electrical current.

3. The flow of electrons energizes the vaporized mercury atoms to

make them give off ultraviolet (UV) radiation.
4. The inside of the glass tube is coated with a fluorescent powder.
The UV radiation makes it give off visible light but only whilst exposed
to the UV (i.e. the process of fluorescence).
The discharge in argon/krypton gas causes the gas to give off a
bluish glow, which can only be observed in a tube without the
phosphor coating. This light constitutes only about 3% of the total light
output from the lamp, the remaining 97% is generated by the
phosphor.
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The key components in the circuit are:

- Ballast (or choke) - the device that
controls the current through the lamp;
- Starter - the switch that starts the lamp;
- Capacitor - the component that corrects
the power factor.

Fluorescent lamps are not designed to be operated directly from the

mains supply.
All fluorescent lamps require a device to generate a high voltage
(more than 230V) to initiate the discharge and an additional device to
control the discharge current.
Control gear/ballast is essentially a device connected in series with
a lamp to limit the current it draws down.
All discharge lamps have a negative current-voltage characteristic,
which means that voltage decreases with increasing current and, unlike
incandescent lamps, their electrical resistance decreases with increasing
temperature. A discharge lamp without control gear would draw an ever
increasing current as it runs up, and in the process destroy itself.
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Ballast can also be referred to as a choke. It is a device for

restricting (or 'choking') the current through the lamp. It is always
connected in series with the lamp.
In electrical terms, the ballast is a self-inductance and consists of a
coil of copper wire wound around a heavy iron core. As the alternating
mains current passes through the coil, it generates an alternating magnetic
field in the iron core. This alternating magnetic field induces a current in the
coil opposing the mains current. The net effect is a limited current through
the ballast and the lamp. The current limiting effect is very dependent upon
the frequency of the supply current the higher the frequency, the greater
is the 'choking' effect.
The inherent resistance of the copper wire coil absorbs some of the
power (given out as heat). Typically, the power absorbed by the ballast
(known as 'ballast losses'), is about 25% of the rated power of the lamp
being operated.
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The starter
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Starter cu licrire
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plac borne, 7-condensator

This is the switching device used to start

fluorescent lamps. Essentially, it is a switch that first
completes a circuit to heat up the lamp cathodes and
then instantly breaks the circuit, which induces a very
high voltage across the ballast and lamp. This high
voltage starts the discharge in the lamp which then
runs up to its normal operation.
If the lamp fails to light first time, the starter
automatically repeats the process until the lamp
strikes. This is what causes a fluorescent tube to flash
during start-up. Once the lamp is running, the starter
no longer attempts to start the lamp.
The modern fluorescent starter is known as a
'glow' starter because it glows in operation and is
designed to be an easily replaceable item.
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Capacitor
The current restricting effect of the ballast prevents the alternating
mains current from being synchronous with the alternating mains voltage.
The current is said to 'lag' behind the voltage and the magnitude of this
'lagging' is referred to as the 'power factor' of the circuit.
A capacitor has the opposite effect in that it makes the alternating
current 'lead' the alternating supply voltage. By choice of suitable
capacitor, the 'lagging' effect of the ballast can be offset by the 'leading'
effect of the capacitor.
Such capacitors are referred to as 'power factor correction'
capacitors (or PFC capacitors).
The ideal power factor is 1. Without a PFC capacitor, the power
factor is usually less than 0.5 in a fluorescent circuit.
The fluorescent lamp circuit will operate normally without the PFC
capacitor, but the power meter would register less than half of the
apparent power being transmitted - a situation not encouraged by the
electricity generation companies.

Compact Fluorescent Lamps

Compact Fluorescent Lamps offer many advantages:

Energy cost savings up to 70% vs. incandescent lamps of
comparable light output;
Long life 8 to 10 times longer, than standard incandescent lamps;
Good color rendering rare earth tri-phosphor provides such high
quality color you wont believe its fluorescent. Most types offer a choice of
color options, from warm to cool, to select the tone and atmosphere you
need;
A choice of wattages, shapes and sizes to meet lighting needs.
Designed to fit everything from table lamps to wall sconces and ceiling
fixtures.

CFLs contain a small amount of mercury sealed within the glass tubing 4
milligrams (mg). By comparison, older thermometers contain about 500
milligrams of mercury.
No mercury is released when the bulbs are intact (not broken) or in use
CLEANUP AND DISPOSAL OVERVIEW
1. Before cleanup
a. Have people and pets leave the room.
b. Air out the room for 5-10 minutes by opening a window or door.
c. Shut off the central forced air heating/air conditioning (H&AC) system.
d. Collect materials needed to clean up broken bulb.
2. During cleanup
a. Be thorough in collecting broken glass and visible powder.
b. Place cleanup materials in a sealable container.
3. After cleanup
a. Promptly place all bulb debris and cleanup materials outdoors in a trash
container or protected area until materials can be disposed of properly.
Avoid leaving any bulb fragments or cleanup materials indoors.
b. For several hours, continue to air out the room where the bulb was
broken and leave the H&AC system shut off.
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Basic Physics of the Incandescent Lamp (Lightbulb)

Incandescence occurs when electrical
resistive heating creates thermally excited atoms.
Some of the thermal kinetic energy is

transferred to electronic excitations within the

solid. The excited states are relieved by photonic
emission. When enough of the radiation emitted is
in the visible spectrum so that we can see an

object by its own visible light, we say it is

incandescing.
In a solid, there is a near-continuum of

electron energy levels, resulting in a continuous

non-discrete spectrum of radiation.
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To emit visible light, a solid must be heated to over 850 K (6600 K

average temperature of the Suns photosphere). It is currently impossible
to match the color mix of sunlight with any filament because we have no
substance that can be heated to this temperature and remain solid. Of all
solid filament materials, tungsten has the highest known melting
temperature (3680 K) and the lowest rate of evaporation of the pure
metals.
The vaporization pressure limits maximum useful filament
temperature to about 3000 K. At these temperatures, only a small fraction
of the radiated energy occurs in the visible wavelengthsless than 10%,
with most remaining energy radiated away at infrared (IR). Hence,
incandescent filaments are quite inefficient for visible light production.
Low-temperature filaments (2500 to 2700 K) are particularly rich in
red spectral energy and tend to bring out red in skin complexions, making
people appear healthier.
Higher temperature filaments (2800 to 2900 K) are relatively richer
in blue wavelengths, and are paradoxically called cooler lights in the
color sense.
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Bulb envelope is made of soft glass; top

operating temperature ~ 400 C.
Fill gasusually argon to retard filament
evaporation with some nitrogen to eliminate
arcing.
Exhaust tube extends through bulb base and
is used to evacuate, and fill bulb before being
sealed off.
Base, made of aluminum, is cemented to the
bulb.
Eyelet is contact point to which electrical hot
wire is soldered.
Fuse protects circuit.
Glass rod that supports wires placed in it.
Lead-in wires made of three welded metal
sections carry current to and from filament,
passing through glass seals called the stem
press.
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 Coiled-coil tungsten filament is designed to maintain temperature

and glows yellow/orange hot at 3000 K.
The intricate coiled coil mechanical design of the filament is
designed to retain as much thermal energy as possible while increasing
surface area.

The preferred krypton gas is too expensive, except for specialty

lamps where long life span is a priority (traffic-signal lights).

Lightbulbs smaller than 25 W require no fill gas, just a

partial vacuum free of oxygen and water vapor.
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Filaments gradually degrade, and lightbulbs darken as tungsten

evaporates from the filament surface to be deposited on the inner
surface of the glass envelope. Convection currents in the fill gases will
carry the tungsten atoms to the top of the envelope to blacken the
bulb.
Tungsten evaporates from the filament at higher temperature
locations, creating a thermal runaway cycle: since filament hot spots
evaporate faster, locally thinned filament locations will develop higher
electrical resistances that rise in temperature, thereby reinforcing
localized evaporation.
At startup, tungsten filaments are so cool that the initial inrush
current is 10 times greater than operating current, leading to strong
magnetic forces between adjacent coils of the filament. This thermal
and mechanical stress ensures that most degraded household bulbs
will fail or burn out in their first second of cold startup.
Expensive quartz infrared lamps counter this effect by preheating
with a low voltage during startup.
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The Tungsten Halide Cycle

The blackening of a bulb due to evaporated tungsten deposits

can be reduced by introducing traces of a halogen gas such as
iodine. These halogens engage in a temperature-dependent cycle
with tungsten vapor in which tungsten halide forms at lower
temperatures.
Tungsten halide dissociates at the higher temperatures on the
filament. This halide cycle will return tungsten atoms from the fill
gas and the silica envelope to the filament. While bulb blackening is
reduced, tungsten is unfortunately not returned to the thinnest
parts.
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Halogen lamp filaments not only can be run hotter and more
efficiently, but must be run at higher temperatures to initiate and
sustain the halogen cycle. Therefore, for halogen bulbs, a very
small tubular envelope made of fused silica (a noncrystalline
quartz) is operated at temperatures up to 1200 C, together with a
high-pressure fill gas (about five atmospheres).

To ensure full lamp life, halogen filaments should be run at

least 20 minutes to initiate the halogen gas cycle and fill-gas
convection.
Halogen lamps are often not tolerant of changing orientations
because of their strong dependence on convection gas currents.
Halogen lamps are whiter and hotter (usually 3000 to 3500 K) than
ordinary bulbs, and the system is more efficient (10 to 12% of the
spectral energy is in visible wavelengths). Halogen lamps have
become standard in automobile headlamps and projector bulbs,
and for photographic use.
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