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CFLs and rental properties.

F

F Murtz

Jan 1, 1970
0
KR said:
Yes, that is correct and would stop the CFL from flashing (by shorting
together the 2 lamp wires when power is off) , but the problem is that
you cannot safely connect both the active and neutral directly to the
2 "throw" terminals of a standard Australian light switch, there is a
high risk of arc / breakdown between the 2 throw terminals, leading to
a short and/or a fire.

DONT DO IT.

Don't worry it is very rare to find an earth at the switch position for
the amateur to fiddle with (same with the neutral)
 
D

Davo

Jan 1, 1970
0
KR said:
Yes, that is correct and would stop the CFL from flashing (by shorting
together the 2 lamp wires when power is off) , but the problem is that
you cannot safely connect both the active and neutral directly to the
2 "throw" terminals of a standard Australian light switch, there is a
high risk of arc / breakdown between the 2 throw terminals, leading to
a short and/or a fire.

DONT DO IT.


As I said in another post, using a resistor in series with the neutral
to the throw terminal, or wall plate type neon insert (subject to its
breakdown voltage being lower than the CFL's "start" voltage
threshold) is the only safe way I can think of achieving a safe result
with this method.

the ideal solution would be for CFL makers to put a "bleed" resistor
across the filter cap. I doubt it will happen though.

Note - If trying this in any other electrical system, note that as
well as the insulation breakdown switch, if you use any type of "make
before break" switch, you would cop a dead short circuit across the
supply - check the switch first before applying power.


probably wouldn't trip an ELCB, but I wouldnt try wiring anything to
the earth except things that are meant to be earthed. at least it
would probably trip the ELCB if the switch insulation failed.

Off the top of my head, since I don't have the regulations handy, it's
illegal to connect the earth to the neutral anywhere except at the
neutral bar link in the supply switchboard. Additionally, by law, the
system has to pass a test process before power is applied, and
connecting the neutral to the earth at any place besides the switchboard
would cause the system to fail the test.
 
I

ian field

Jan 1, 1970
0
Jasen Betts said:
Last time I checked it was perfectly legal to run the
live(red)+neutral(black)
+earth(green+yellow) from the fusebox to the light fixture and then run a
branch from there to the switch with a 2 conductor cable with just
live(red)
and switched live(white)

As has been observed the capacitance between live and switched makes this
setup
less than ideal for use with CFLs.


I doubt a cfl would conduct significant current if wired between earth
and neutral, it does seem like a bodge though.

would putting a Class X2 capacitor in parallel with the lamp be
better?

It probably would since the flickering is most likely due to capacitance
between the wires, its a simple matter to shunt the tiny current with a
bigger capacitance than the wiring. The main difficulty is safely housing
the capacitor in the light fitting, if there's a neutral behind the switch
plate that might make things easier.
 
I

ian field

Jan 1, 1970
0
Davo said:
Off the top of my head, since I don't have the regulations handy, it's
illegal to connect the earth to the neutral anywhere except at the neutral
bar link in the supply switchboard. Additionally, by law, the system has
to pass a test process before power is applied, and connecting the neutral
to the earth at any place besides the switchboard would cause the system
to fail the test.

Who said anything about connecting earth and neutral together?
 
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