Flourescent Lighting

[mrbojangles]

When I was up in the boonies earlier this week, I noticed that it seemed like flies and bugs etc were concentrating on buzzing round a particular fluorescent light but they seemed to be leaving other kinds alone.

Does anybody know if there is there is a particular colour of fluorescent tube that doesn't attract them and if there is a type that does attract them. i.e. Cool White, Day Light, Warm White etc

I'm thinking that if there is such a thing, we could use the ones that don't attract them, around the house. We could also put one that does attract them away from the house near a tree or something like that which will keep them attracted.

[PhayaoPete]

Supposedly....bugs don't like the color, yellow. I have gotten plastic yellow sleeves and put them on regular flourescent bulbs and it seems to work quite well. From what I have experienced, bugs love that bright white light the newer cf bulbs give off. pp

[bankruatsteve]

If you're talking about the curly ones that go into a "normal" light socket: I've found that the bugs seem to prefer the white vs. the - well I forget the other "color". Not a big diff but maybe a little.

[mrbojangles]

Cheers chaps. I'll give that a go.

[electau]

You could get a UV bug catcher plug in 220V with mesh screen. Will kill mosquitos, flies and insects including flying ants.

Then you can use the standard warm white/ white/daylight fluoresent tube(s).

[Litlos]

The bright white are called Cool White and they seem to attract the bugs. You can also get Warm White which has a bit of a pale yellow look to it and they do not seem to attract the bugs as much. Both of these colours are availble for the long tubes and the socket plug ins. Ideally yellow as that definetly seems to be a turn off for the bugs. If you get a bug killer do not put it anywhere you want to be as the blue light does attract the bugs and they may bypass the getting killed stage if they spot fresh food nearby.

Unfortunately it seems I am the attractant for the mozzies, and they ignore all lights to home in on me

Cheers

Edited January 5, 2013 by Litlos

[wpcoe]

When I was growing up in the dark ages of the 1950's and 1960's, most everybody in the neighborhood used to have yellow-coated incandescent bulbs in their porch lights. They were marketed as Bug Lights in clearly marked packaging. I guess it worked?

[Crossy]

It's worth looking at LED lighting as these emit far less UV than other types and thus attract fewer bugs much to the annoyance of the gekkos that hang around them.

[lopburi3]

In what form is it available here? Believe you buy from China? Have you bought anything in last several months? Find 4 week delay from Hong Kong now for anything from China.

But on topic check of the replacement type lamps (corn cob) seems to be only about 200-400 lumens which is not much light so expect you would have to design house for LED use? Any simple information source? Am sure it is the future; but not sure the future is now.

[Pib]

In what form is it available here? Believe you buy from China? Have you bought anything in last several months? Find 4 week delay from Hong Kong now for anything from China.

I hear you...My latest Ebay order of a $13 tablet case (free shipping) in late Nov 2012 (shipped 24 Nov from Hong Kong ) took 40 days to arrive my Bangkok home...and no signs it getting delayed in customs...arrived VAT/customs free....perfectly addressed. The Hong Kong shipper must have used message-in-the-bottle shipping mode, the Thai postal system found it on a Thai beach, and then completed delivery. S.....l......o......w.

[electau]

One has to be very careful with the misinformation concerning LED fittings and lamps when comparing them with conventional lamps.

As with heat, lumens is lumens, there is no substitute so if you see a product with excessive savings in power consumption without creating an equivalent lumen output the only thing you are saving is the education process when you realise that the product does not perform to your expectations.

There seems to be no minimum performance standards as yet. One should be wary of any performance guarantees, eg 50000hrs, from an unbranded product from a company that was created last year. Operating conditions. Many fittings are designed to operate in ambient temperatures of 25C, when 40C would be closer to the mark.

So your lighting checklist, light=heat, heat =losses, lumens =lumens.

( Ref. Extract is part of an article from Pierlite Australia).

[Pib]

Here's one organization's comparison of LED, compact fluorescent, and incandescent light bulbs from the standpoints of cost, light output, lifespan, etc. Even gives a few recommendations on how to choose a LED bulb. Link

[electau]

They are expensive per tube (36W) (18W) and they cannot be substituted for an existing tube. The ballast and starter have to be removed and the wiring reconnected to one end of the tube.

Currently too expensive for the normal domestic type installation. Exit and evacuation lights are well suited to LEDs as current maintainance costs are high for normal light fittings. So are small downlights, LEDs can replace these.

[lopburi3]

In what form is it available here? Believe you buy from China? Have you bought anything in last several months? Find 4 week delay from Hong Kong now for anything from China.

I hear you...My latest Ebay order of a $13 tablet case (free shipping) in late Nov 2012 (shipped 24 Nov from Hong Kong ) took 40 days to arrive my Bangkok home...and no signs it getting delayed in customs...arrived VAT/customs free....perfectly addressed. The Hong Kong shipper must have used message-in-the-bottle shipping mode, the Thai postal system found it on a Thai beach, and then completed delivery. S.....l......o......w.

In both my cases shipment was made on stated date but rather than the normal 5-7 days it took a month and very low value so not a case of misrepresentation on customs sticker (as does happen). Shipper was warning Thai Customs was delaying all shipments into Thailand from China but was not sure if that was to cover show shipments - but check of posted date does seem to confirm.

[lopburi3]

When I was growing up in the dark ages of the 1950's and 1960's, most everybody in the neighborhood used to have yellow-coated incandescent bulbs in their porch lights. They were marketed as Bug Lights in clearly marked packaging. I guess it worked?

In Foodland today noticed they had 18w Lamptan Photon yellow bug lights for sale.

[mrbojangles]

How effective are they Lops and is the lighting any good? I think I might try warm white first in the Thai kitchen and a cool white near a tree and see how that goes.

[lopburi3]

Have not bought any - our outside lights are tube type rather than screw base and use screens for house. From youth in US only recall such bulbs (incandescent) being used for porch and not providing much real light. But there spec sheet below lists 1,000 lumen so that would seem to be more than I recall from older bulbs.

http://www.lamptan.co.th/joomla/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=140&Itemid=59

[wpcoe]

In Foodland today noticed they had 18w Lamptan Photon yellow bug lights for sale.

Just returned from Home Pro (Hua Hin) and they have them, too, along with an assortment of other colors.

Have not bought any - our outside lights are tube type rather than screw base and use screens for house. From youth in US only recall such bulbs (incandescent) being used for porch and not providing much real light. But there spec sheet below lists 1,000 lumen so that would seem to be more than I recall from older bulbs.

http://www.lamptan.c...d=140&Itemid=59

Yes, those old incandescent bug lights really didn't provide much light. Now that I think about it, though, I wonder if I'd really want full brightness (lumens) from a neon yellow bulb. Might be a bit surrealistic to walk out to the patio.