phil@brahms.amd.com (Phil Ngai) (12/20/90)
I asked about CFFs a while ago and nobody said anything so I went to a real live electrical contractors store. They had one on display and a Halo catalog. Beautiful stuff. He warned me they were expensive but apparently they are around $90 or so. After looking at LV Halogen track lights, that doesn't seem so bad. The other interesting thing is they are apparently seriously backlogged. Some law now requires them for new baths and kitchens. The factories estimated 17 million and have sold 35 million. This is good and bad. Bad because they're hard to get right now. Good because there's an enormous market and the Taiwanese will probably come in and bomb the prices in a year or so. (of course, this all assumes you are a fan of CFs, which I certainly am. I think the people who claim to not like them haven't seen the new ones.) --
hpoppe@ncar.ucar.edu (Herb Poppe) (12/21/90)
In article <1990Dec19.194340.7427@amd.com> phil@brahms.amd.com (Phil Ngai) writes: > I asked about CFFs a while ago and nobody said anything so > I went to a real live electrical contractors store. They > had one on display and a Halo catalog. Beautiful stuff. > > He warned me they were expensive but apparently they are > around $90 or so. After looking at LV Halogen track lights, > that doesn't seem so bad. Does the "LV" stand for "Low Voltage"; if so, what is the voltage? Is it AC or DC? What is the current drawn by these lamps? How large is the lamp and lamp housing? Is the expense in the housing and track, or are the lamps expensive too? Herb Poppe hpoppe@ncar.ucar.edu NCAR (303) 497-1296 1850 Table Mesa Dr. Boulder, CO 80307-3000
phil@brahms.amd.com (Phil Ngai) (12/21/90)
In article <9624@ncar.ucar.edu> hpoppe@ncar.ucar.edu (Herb Poppe) writes: |Does the "LV" stand for "Low Voltage"; if so, what is the voltage? Yes, 12 V. I don't know if it's AC or DC. |What is the current drawn by these lamps? The MR16 series comes in 20, 50, and 75 watt sizes. We use 50 for most locations, that would be a little over 4 amps of 12 V. The lamp has a power supply/transformer which takes 120 VAC and converts it to 12 V. (I don't know if it's really a transformer or some cute solid state thing, it does say not to use it on a regular lamp dimmer so I suspect it's SS in some way.) |How large is the lamp and lamp housing? The lamp is tiny. The housing is also pretty small. |Is the expense in the housing and track, or are the lamps expensive too? The track is regular track. The lamp I got was brass so it was $60. You can get less fancy ones for around $40. Still nice looking. If you're curious what LVH looks like, go to a place that has "fancy" jewelry on display. (Sears comes to mind) If you see something really bright and sparkley, it's probably lit by LVH. -- Some people need to have a license marked "Surface streets only, no freeway usage."