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Old 03-28-14, 03:48 PM   #11
oil pan 4
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I tested some LEDs expecting to find a much better power factor.
Eh,,, marginally better.
I caught a 10watt LED using 13.5voltamps.

Any way you cut it the greater than 0.7 power factor is better than the 0.5 to 0.6 power factor CFLs seem to like to run at.

I used to think that LEDs didnt offer enough improvement to warrant their additional cost.
I reverse my position.

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Old 03-28-14, 04:03 PM   #12
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I guess that for the discussion of power factors and voltamps, I shall remain blissfully ignorant. I read both your posts twice and it went over my head both times.

I have way too many other things bouncing around inside my head to spend the time to learn what all this really means, but also can respect that it is a matter of interest to you. I will measure a CFL for the voltamps if you can tell me how to do it on my Kill-A-Watt meter and post the results on Monday if nothing terrible happens.

I don't have internet at home, so in about an hour I'll be gone until about 7:30 CST Monday morning.
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Old 03-28-14, 09:47 PM   #13
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I have 2 kill-a-watt meters, one thats probably the original version and a newer one. Both work the same way you have the up and down buttons that scroll through the options.
Plug it in and it should default display voltage, normal reading is 115 to 125.
Hz is Hertz, the power frequency, should always read 60 to 59.9 allover north america unless plugged into a generator or 50Hz inverter if you can find one.
Watts are watts, also known as true power.
Amps are the current.
Then you have the 2 weird ones, VoltAmps and power factor displayed as P.F.
You might notice VoltAmps are usually about the same as watts, but not always depending on whats plugged in.
P.F. is always 1 or less and makes no sense to the vast majority of people.

I am a little more intrested in the power factor they run at, just to get an over all idea of how bad their operational charteristics are. But their watt and voltamp readings after they have warmed up and leveled off are just as good.
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Old 03-31-14, 07:21 AM   #14
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I'll try it and see what happens
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Old 03-31-14, 02:41 PM   #15
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I'm measuring a 10W GE CFL and it shows ~8.8W used. And my new Kill-A-Watt 'Edge" doesn't do PF ... sigh.
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Old 03-31-14, 03:07 PM   #16
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I have been using mini-cfl in my house for the last 14yrs. Aprox. 60 total in house.

I don't know why but they don't last nearly as long as they advertize?
Very annoying!

It could be my 8,500' altitude or power line fluxuation or ??

My neighbors say same thing.
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Old 03-31-14, 07:20 PM   #17
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My Cree 800 lumen (60W equivalent) warm white, dual bulb frankenlamp settled in twitching back and forth between .90 and .99 on the PF scale of my Kill-a-watt P4400. If I dialed down the dimmer, the PF drove down drastically, but we all know dimmers waste power. With the dimmer on full brightness, the PF seemed to flip-flop between the two readings rhythmically.

I get anywhere from a .49 to a .56 PF on my 3-way CFL bulb, depending on the switch setting. The .49 PF is on the dim setting, the .56 is on the brightest setting.
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Old 03-31-14, 10:58 PM   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by buffalobillpatrick View Post
I have been using mini-cfl in my house for the last 14yrs. Aprox. 60 total in house.

I don't know why but they don't last nearly as long as they advertize?
Very annoying!

It could be my 8,500' altitude or power line fluxuation or ??

My neighbors say same thing.
Positioning effects light output, efficiency and life.
Screwing them into a horizontal base, verticle base up and base pointing down all have their own differences.
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Old 04-01-14, 12:33 AM   #19
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I bought two 20w utilitech pro para38 outdoor flood, 1035 lumens. It runs a 0.94 powerfactor.
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Old 04-01-14, 07:16 AM   #20
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Checking again last night came up with 47 to 49 on the PF. I was a bit surprised to see those numbers, but I don't yet see any value in knowing the number. Is there a way to improve the number? That was with or without the lamp even being plugged into the meter.

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