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In article <4902@cup.portal.com>, doug-merritt@cup.portal.com writes:
> Getting down to brass tacks, flourescent light flicker can be annoying;
> if the flicker rate were higher it wouldn't be. Other than possibly
> the spectrum.
> 
> So: are there any commercially available gizmo's that you can stick
> on flourescent lights that drive them at a higher frequency? Seems
> simple in concept but I've never seen one.

	There are commercially available fluorescent lighting systems
which use high frequency excitation.  The primary motivation for such
use is more efficient energy utilization, and not flicker reduction,
however.
	Using an appropriately designed ballast and exciting a fluorescent
fixture at say, 3 kHz, will result in energy savings of 50% or more
over an equivalent 60 Hz fixture.  Since the excess energy goes to
heat, not only is there electrical power reduction, but also reduced
load on HVAC systems to remove room heat.
	General Electric makes high frequency fluorescent lamp systems
which operate from 277 volts (i.e., 480/277 3-phase), and which excite
at 3 kHz.  These are strictly intended for large installations in
commercial buildings; I don't know of any single-fixture systems for
120 volts.
	Interestingly enough, while the energy savings from the use of
high frequency fluorescent lamp excitation are significant, the actual
number of installations are still few and far between.  I suspect that
the reason is high installation cost.

<>  Larry Lippman @ Recognition Research Corp., Clarence, New York
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