OT: Question about Compact Fluorescent Bulbs

Anonymous-0 · Dec 18, 2008

Maybe it's just me, I dunno...which is why I'm asking. But since I've put the compact spiral fluorescent bulbs in most of the light fixtures in my house, when it's really quiet in the house, I can hear a high-pitched whine...faintly, but enough that it's annoying as hell.

So...could the noise be coming from the CFL's, or is my hearing going away?

Kestrel in CT · Dec 18, 2008

Computer on ? Maybe it's residual whine from the YT forums.

No, I hear it too in CFLs.

Chris in SK · Dec 18, 2008

Why not switch off all the lights and sit in the dark. If you can still hear it, kill the power to the house at your panel and if you can still hear it you must have Tinitus! If it goes away, switch on one breaker at a time until you find it.

Anonymous-0 · Dec 18, 2008

Be glad it's just the bulbs..... I've been living with that for years now.

Does it stop when you turn the switch off? I've been using these bulbs also but wouldn't hear the noise you are talking about. I did hear something yesterday about these things not being all they are advertised to be (don't last as long/contain mercury). The expert said that there were LED bulbs available that used less power, made more light, and rated for 11 years of continuous use and 20 intermittant (????). Think I'll check into them just for the helluvit but sure like the florescents. Come to think of it, I have heard a humm from florescent tubes. could come as a whine in the smaller ones.

Dave

Coloken · Dec 18, 2008

Just keep driving those old tractors with no mufflers and you will be like the rest of us old fellows. I use to be able to hear a TV fly-back--not for years. Its what? 15 thousand something?

Anonymous-0 · Dec 18, 2008

I sometimes hear that same whine, The wife sez I have a hole in my head and it's the vacuum sucking air in making the noise. We have about a dozen of the bulbs , haven't noticed anything but like the feller said, be glad it's the bulbs.

NEsota · Dec 18, 2008

Coloken, I am not sure the 15K fly-back is still used. My recollection from black & white days is that the fly-back was used to generate the high voltage for the picture tube. It could be that, this is accomplished another way now. I think that before the fly-back was used 60 cycles was stepped up to the high voltage. The 15 kilo cycle was more friendly because when a body touched it, because the high frequency was interrupted, thus killing the stepped up voltage.

JDemaris · Dec 18, 2008

Yeah, they whine a bit. Most if not all the newer CFLs are actually hybrids - they are technically incandescent because they have a flourescent filament that makes the light. I think the filament is why they work so much better in cold temps - as compared to the ones made in the past.

I've never paid more than $1 for one, so perhaps the more pricey ones don't whine? I just bought several 8-packs for $5.99 which is pretty amazing.

rustyfarmall · Dec 18, 2008

Dave2, I look for the LED lights to replace the CFLs sometime in the not too distant future, but right now the LEDs are pretty pricey.

rhouston · Dec 18, 2008

The worst part of LEDs is they have a noticable 60 cycle flicker that is less noticable on flourescents. An LED is a one way device so when the power cycles to negative voltage the LED turns off. Incandescents would have the same flicker but the filament cannot cool down enough during the cycle to be noticable plus they work during the negative voltage part of the cycle. Take an LED christmas light or clock into a dark room. Move it up and down in a wide arc and you can see the flicker easily. Some people are more suceptible to the flicker, like my wife and two of the kids than others. LEDs run on DC do not flicker.

As a side note the filament in the Flourescents is only part of the startup cycle. I'm recalling that from memory so don't quote me on it.

I heard that neon lights use even less electricity than Flourescents and LEDs for the same light output.

Anonymous-0 · Dec 18, 2008

I saw a couple of flood light bulbs for around 80 bucks each........... I'll wait awhile. In the winter time the horses are at the house and have to be cared for in the dark (work schedule) so I have the place lit up like a football field. I replaced a couple of 500 watt halogen floodlights with 27 watt florescent ones and am OK with them. Like the light much better as it doesn't blind you, just don't reach as far. Things are a little pricier here and I try to order some stuff online from the States but, in the case of electrical stuff, it's hard to find 230 volt.

Dave

1936 · Dec 18, 2008

Drop and break one in your house and will require a haz mat team for a clean up. Read the directions with the bulbs for a clean up. First you leave the house for 15 minutes and etc. Direction may have been written so only a country lawyer whom posted yesterday can cyper.

Hearing test place your watch up to each ear if you can hear something in at least one ear you are fine. If not carry a pencil and pad for communications.

JDemaris · Dec 18, 2008

You only need a hazmat team if you're dumb enough to call somebody in government. The CFLs don't have hardly any more mercury in them then standard, long-tube flourescent bulbs do - and with some - less.

If I dropped a can of oil on the ground, and called the county, they'd send a hazmat team for that too - and send me quite a bill.

Anonymous-0 · Dec 18, 2008

I absolutely HATE those things! CFL's need to be UN-invented. They save energy, but you need 5 of them to throw out as much light as a standard bulb. Tried a few here again recently. Ended up taking them back. Worthless.

noncompos · Dec 18, 2008

We have several of the $1 cfl's in the house; only one has the whine, audible from several feet away: none of the others has any discernible sound.
They're all from the same maker (or at least in the same packaging; God only knows whether they're from different factories supplying the packager).
Florescents typically hum, some louder than others; seems I've read some people think they're bad to be close to.

Mark - IN. · Dec 18, 2008

Hearing high a high pitched whine you say? Its just part of the big plan. I haven't figured out exactly what the big plan is though and don't feel bad about because the planners haven't either.

Mark

RayP(MI) · Dec 18, 2008

Well, my first guess would be tintinitis, what happens to many of us old guys, especially those who worked in noisy environments. TV used to have a real bad high pitched whine. 'Bout drove me crazy to walk past a display of tvs in a department store. Dont't know if they do still, or if I can't hear that high anymore. New technology has changed how the picture tube is powered. As far as the flourescents, they run at line frequency, 60Hz - most can't hear that low.
Led lights if run all in one direction, would have a 60hz flicker, because they would be running on only one side of the ac sine wave, since they are diodes. However, I suspect they are made to run on both sides of the sine wave, to eliminate the flicker. My dad used to tell when they changed from 30 cycle to 60 cycle (they called them cycles back then), Said you could actually see the flicker in lightbulbs at 30 cycles. When they switched, the clocks ran twice as fast!

dave guest · Dec 19, 2008

NEsota, Not sure which of us has the better memory, but anytime I got into black and white high voltage 15,750 cycles, I thought I was killed. It tightens your muscles and anything gets in the way will be broken or mangled. One time in the TV shop a customer walked up to a 16 inch black and white and he said this thing right here and pointed at the cap of the 1B3 high voltage rectifier a flash popped over to his finger and I swear both his feet left the floor and he left holding and rubbing his arm. Even the CRT would hold a charge for couple days and bite you unless you discharged it to ground. Sorry don't know nothing about compact bulbs except they draw quite a bit of juice when turned on. Supposed to be left on for minimum of 3 hours.

Anonymous-0 · Dec 19, 2008

CFLs have an inverter in the base that has small transformers.I would guess 400hz It takes 200 volts to fire a fluoresent tube.I have a lot of cfls that quit working.I am stocking up on Edison lamps.

Clarkbug · Dec 19, 2008

The engineering firm I work for does a lot of "green" work, and CFL's come up all the time. I also only use CFLs in my home because of the energy savings.

If you have a cheaper CFL, you can get the flickering, buzzing, whining, etc. that can happen. Make sure any CFLs you buy are UL listed, that actually goes a long way. The cheap ones also tend to mess with radio and TV signals depending on where they are plugged in.

I take all my blown CFLs to be recycled due to the mercury in them. I havent broken any of them, but you can just sorta scoop things up and put it in a bag, dont breathe any of the dust in.

Another thing to look out for is if you put a CFL in a dimming fixture or on a dimmer switch. Lots of them dont like that, so you need to get a dimmable ballasted bulb, which isnt too cheap.

I think eventually the LED bulbs will take over, but they are too expensive right now.

OT: Question about Compact Fluorescent Bulbs

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