I was helping with a complaint where the customer sees his lights dip when his 4 ton condensing unit starts and when the neighbor's 5 ton unit starts. POCO transformer serves both houses and is large enough to handle the LRA from either unit. 350AL from the transformer to a pedestal then 4/0 AL serves each house. All are relatively short conductor runs.
I preach that clear/unfrosted incandescent bulbs under a white ceiling are the worst for showing small voltage drops. When compared to CFLs, most CFLs were worse than incandescent bulbs at showing the perceivable flicker. Voltage drop at this main is less than three percent for the entire house during these condenser start ups.
I had been hearing that LED bulbs were being recommended by our folks to help hide the voltage drop so today I bought several samples and tested. The online reviews talk about energy use, color and longevity. No one talks about how they react to change in voltage.
I assumed :ashamed1: that LED bulb construction would be similar so I standardized on 60 watt, daylight. One brand was at the top of most reviewers' list and performed as poorly as CFLs with a three percent drop at 120 volts. There was one stick shaped LED light that performed very, very well. The voltage drop was changed to fall from 123 to 105 volts at the main. Not one person in the group could perceive the flicker with a 14% voltage drop. I would have bet money that could not happen. All other bulb types and brands did not come close to hiding the voltage drop as the stick shaped LED bulb.
Has anyone tested like this before? How can these LED bulbs be designed so differently? This stick bulb is probably too ugly for open air use so trying to suggest as the fix for all problems in all fixtures will be tough.
I plan to buy many other brands and types to continue testing for a Best Bulb.
Thanks.
I preach that clear/unfrosted incandescent bulbs under a white ceiling are the worst for showing small voltage drops. When compared to CFLs, most CFLs were worse than incandescent bulbs at showing the perceivable flicker. Voltage drop at this main is less than three percent for the entire house during these condenser start ups.
I had been hearing that LED bulbs were being recommended by our folks to help hide the voltage drop so today I bought several samples and tested. The online reviews talk about energy use, color and longevity. No one talks about how they react to change in voltage.
I assumed :ashamed1: that LED bulb construction would be similar so I standardized on 60 watt, daylight. One brand was at the top of most reviewers' list and performed as poorly as CFLs with a three percent drop at 120 volts. There was one stick shaped LED light that performed very, very well. The voltage drop was changed to fall from 123 to 105 volts at the main. Not one person in the group could perceive the flicker with a 14% voltage drop. I would have bet money that could not happen. All other bulb types and brands did not come close to hiding the voltage drop as the stick shaped LED bulb.
Has anyone tested like this before? How can these LED bulbs be designed so differently? This stick bulb is probably too ugly for open air use so trying to suggest as the fix for all problems in all fixtures will be tough.
I plan to buy many other brands and types to continue testing for a Best Bulb.
Thanks.