Lights from yesteryear

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steve66

steve66

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Engineer
A very old building has 480/277V lighting panels. (I would say the building dates back to at least the early 1920's).

I am assuming they didn't have fluorescent or metal halide lights back then. Is is possible they used 277V incandescent lights? Or is it more likely the 277V lighting panels been added since then.

Steve
 
I saw an ancient lighting catalog once that showed the original "high bay" lights that used mercury vapor lamps. It's possible that those were being used. :?:
 
peter d said:
I'm certainly no expert on older power systems, but I don't think 480/277 was a common voltage system back then. :?
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Well back in the early 20's you were probably just a youngster, we wouldn't expect you be an expert on that time period. :p :p
 
colosparker said:
Steve,

How do you know the 480/277 panels date back to the 1920's?
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I don't know that they date back to the 20's. I only know that the building dates back to the 20's. I had never thought about what they used for lighitng back before HID and fluorescent. But I got curious after thinking about it.

Steve
 
It looks like the first fluorescent lamps were commercially made in 1938.
(Apparently fluorescent lamps are actually "mecury vapor lamps", and that's what they were first called. May not be as true now that many fluorecent lamps have low mercury content.)

Metal Halide and Tungsten Halogen apparently came in the late 1950's, and High Pressure Sodium in the 1960's.

I still don't know what voltages older incandescent lamps would have worked from. It seems like if they had to light a 14 story office building with incandescent, they would have picked a higher voltage than 120V.

http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/bllight.htm

http://inventors.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http://americanhistory.si.edu/lighting/

Steve
 
I have installed 277V incandescent lamps. It was years ago. We needed lights in an area where the vapor fixtures had not arrived.
If I remember they were medium base.
 
steve66 said:
colosparker said:
Steve,

How do you know the 480/277 panels date back to the 1920's?
Click to expand...

I don't know that they date back to the 20's. I only know that the building dates back to the 20's. I had never thought about what they used for lighitng back before HID and fluorescent. But I got curious after thinking about it.

Steve
Click to expand...

Incandescent was used. And generally, it wasn't very pretty. Workplaces, offices and factory floors were never illuminated from the ceiling to the extent they are today, desk lamps and "task center" lighting, gooseneck / desk lamp type fixtures were built into the areas where they were needed.

In a typical 1920's - 30's NYC office tower, (Rockefeller center for example) ONE fixture socket is roughed into the deck centered between each vertical column length x width, (typically about 20' apart.) That's one fixture (typically a keyless with a pendant and a clear 200 watt lamp with an exhaust tip) per 400 sq. ft. We sometimes still find these originals when entire floors are gutted for renovations. Along with a multitude of things encased in the original concrete slab pours, like packs of Camels without filters and TIN cans of Schaffer and Piels Beer.

AFAIK, 480/277v distribution systems (at least in NYC) didn't come about until the early 70's. Probably implemented sooner in other parts of the country where heavy industry and manufacturing were more prominent.
 
steve66 said:
I still don't know what voltages older incandescent lamps would have worked from. It seems like if they had to light a 14 story office building with incandescent, they would have picked a higher voltage than 120V.


Steve
Click to expand...

Well they didn't. 120/240V was all you could get, though you also got 240/120v DC for the elevators and mechanical equipment as well.
 
Steve,

More likely that the building was remodeled and 480/277V service was installed. If there are any decorative lighting fixtures these too could have been remodeled with fluorescent lamps and had 277V ballasts added.

-Ed
 
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