NaturaLux™ Filters Tube Guards are similar to the clear tube guards that have been used widely in the food-related industry for many years. Using tube guards requires the fluorescent light bulb to be placed in a hollow plastic tube and placing an end-cap at either end of the tube to secure the bulb within the tube guard. This makes the entire assembly very safe to use in open lighting troffers. While tube guards have been shown to cause an insignificant rise in the overall temperature of the lighting fixture, this slight elevation of temperature has no long-term effect on the lamp's life. As is commonly known, lamp life is most affected by the number of times the lighting fixture is turned on and off during the course of the day.
NOTE: It has been reported that since the invention of T8 and T5 (standard and high-output) lamps, there have been several cases where one end of the tube guard has melted due to excessive heat. Thorough investigation into this phenomenon has shown that the bulb, or the installation technique of the bulb was at fault; not the tube guard itself. In the case of the bulb overheating, investigators point to an "end of lamp-life" issue that causes one of the internal electrodes of the lamp to malfunction. This, in turn, causes the working electrode to work harder to attempt to keep the pressure up within the bulb, thereby causing it to overheat. Some estimates suggest that the bulb temperature approaches 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit. In some of these cases, even the glass of the lamp cracked!
When the lamp is improperly installed in the fixture, it is possible that some arcing may occur. This arcing of electricity can cause the end cap and even the tube guard itself to melt. In either case, if you use tube guards, and you see any melting occur, consider it a "canary in a mine shaft" type of warning and find out why that bulb is getting so hot. Remember that the warming temperature of polycarbonate (the plastic material commonly used to make tube guards) is about 270 degrees Fahrenheit.
Fluorescent Lamp Temperatures
|
|
Temperature |
|
Cool White Fluorescent Lamp |
126 deg. F |
|
Cool White Lamp in a NaturaLux FiltersTM |
134 deg. F |
|
Net Increase in Temperature |
+8 deg. F |
Copyright © 1999-2010 Inspired Concepts, Inc. All rights reserved