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Compact Fluorescent Lighting
Lighting Guide – Efficient Lighting Technologies
Efficiency Maine is a statewide effort to promote the more efficient use of electricity, help Maine residents and businesses reduce energy costs, and improve Maine’s environment.
Efficiency Maine is funded by electricity consumers and administered by the Maine Public Utilities Commission.
Compact fluorescent lighting is an efficient replacement, or
substitute, for incandescent lighting. Similar to linear fluorescent
lighting, a compact fluorescent lamp is tubular and is powered
by a ballast (lighting transformer). The glass tubes are formed
into many different shapes and are commonly available in
wattages ranging from 3 watts to 40 watts. There are two basic
types of compact fluorescent lamps: screw-in lamps with inte-
gral ballasts; and hard-wired compact fluorescent fixtures with
a separate ballast and a plug-in replaceable lamp.
Compact Fluorescent Lighting Types
Screw-in Compact Fluorescent Lamps
The Efficiency Maine Business Program does not offer incen-
tives for screw-in compact fluorescent lamps, because recent
price reductions have made them standard practice, and
because they can easily be replaced with incandescent lamps,
eliminating the energy savings. However, screw-in compact
fluorescent lamps may be an excellent choice for certain types
of commercial lighting applications. They will fit many standard
wall sconces, table lamps, and decorative fixtures providing
dramatic energy savings compared with incandescent lamps.
Care should be taken in installing screw-in compact fluorescent
lamps in recessed “can” and other fixtures that can trap heat,
as lamp life will be shortened.
Hard-wired Compact Fluorescent Fixtures
The Efficiency Maine Business Program does offer incentives
for hard-wired compact fluorescent fixtures (see Measure
Code L25). These fixtures come in many styles with recessed
downlight “cans” and wall sconces being the most popular.
Only fixtures with e