Hi all, I purchased five 30 watt CFL energy savers for a small grow cabinet and the lamps were wired up in parallel. They were first test yesterday, and after about 30 minutes at least one of the lights started to make a buzzing noise followed by a blown plug fuse (only a 3 amp fuse) and an acrid smell which filled the room. After that the lights were retested and one of them blew completely, so I returned two of them to the supermarket and exchanged them for new ones.. After replacement of the two lamps, I did a similar test. The lights lasted longer this time at approximately one hour, before the buzzing noise and acrid smell returned, at which point the lights were turned off and I was starting to think there is something wrong with the way they were wired. After inspection, there were no crossed wires which eliminates a short circuit, so I can't understand what the problem is. Basically the lights work as they should for a period of about 30 - 60 minutes, then they get rather hot (grow box temp of 30 deg Celsius after one hour) and start making the acrid smell and buzzing noise. Out of interest, I noted that for the hour the lights ran, it cost 17 pence to power them! I know the exact price as there is a prepaid electricity meter at the property. So at that rate, it would cost a fortune to run these lights for 3+ months. Does the price of light cost per hour sound correct? If so, I won't continue as it will be way too expensive, if not, can anyone suggest the problems with the lamps? TIA.
Sounds like it is pulling to much power for the out let. (Drawing to many amps) that's why they are blowing. That's really high for 1 hr to grow and idk how it cost that much! Cfl lights usually only cost $2-$3 a yr to run constantly or something like that. (Package will tell you) check your walls wiring also and circuit breaker idk how you can be blowing it that low off those tiny cfl lights. I have 2 fans 1 four ft long 8 bulb Florescent light and 2 cfl lights running off of 2 plugs
Please recheck your wiring AND your house wiring,I'm sure the acrid smell is wiring over heating from too much circuit draw.I agree with pg08 CFLs are dirt cheap to run.I run 2400w actual at all times plus my fans,and my actual home and total bill is $160 a month.
Usually power is sold at a price per kilowatt hour. I pay about 12 cents per kilowatt hour. So using this handy dandy calculator I plugged your figures at the price I pay and I could run 5 30 watt lights for .43 cents a day. 39 bucks per quarter or for a whole year running them 24/7 157 bucks. Costs Calculator