timpsj...
Okay, well that clears it up. Can Lights are decorative lighting
which use incandescent bulbs, as noted in this news story on
the Eureka Alert website:
"It turns out that the most popular form of residential lighting
is generally the most inefficient. So inefficient, in fact, that
new building codes in California will effectively limit new
installation of incandescent recessed fixtures, commonly referred
to as 'can' lights or 'downlights'"
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2005-06/dnnl-el061605.php
Incandescent lighting, in general, is the most inefficient form
of lighting due mainly to the fact that they transform a large
amount of electrical energy into heat, instead of, or as well as,
light.
Incandescent bulbs are based on the original design by Thomas
Edison, and consist of a metal filament in a glass container
in which a vacuum exists. The filament emits light (and heat,
since it literally becomes "white-hot") due to the electricity
passing through it. The vacuum prohibits the oxidation that
would quickly cause the filament to burn out if it were out
in the open air. When these bulbs fail, it is usually due
to the filament burning out, which they all eventually do.
When the filament "burns out" it simply becomes too thin at
it's weakest point, and breaks. Since the electricity no
longer has a path through which to flow, then you are, as
you suspected, using 10% less of the electricity normally
used by the 10-bulb fixture, and you could use even less
by unscrewing more bulbs.
You've probably seen this tactic used by large retailers
such as grocery stores, who often save on their electric
bill by removing half the lights in their fixtures. This
approach will work as well with fluorescent lights, in
that the removed bulbs will not draw current. Fluorescent
bulbs which are burning out, however, may simply dim, and
fail to give off a normal amount of light. A closer look
may show that they are still flickering, however, and
drawing current. Once removed, this will cease.
If you'd like to save on your electric bill, there is a
strong trend toward the use of fluorescent bulbs which
are normally long tubes, but the tubes have been curved
and folded around so that these bulbs will fit into
fixtures designed for incandescent bulbs.
I'm not sure whether such fluorescent bulbs have been
designed specifically to fit into can lighting fixtures,
but there's a very good chance that this is the case.
Your local Home Depot could tell you for sure, and will
have the bulbs, if they are made.
Please do not rate this answer until you are satisfied that
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sublime1-ga
No searches were necessary, as I was an Electronics
Technician in the U.S. Navy, and the topic is familiar. |
