PS My husband is also an inventor and member if IEEE. His name is Martin Gersten, website: gerstenkoplin.com

I got your name from one of my sales reps. I am looking for someone who can explain to me that the T5HO lamp is not as efficient as everyone makes it out to be. I met a guy a couple of years ago and he showed me a bell curve, I can not quite remember the details, but anyhow, there is something about the way we measure the performance of the lamp in a lab versus in the field and also something with the draw from the ballasts to power the lamp. We use a lot of compact flourescent lamps. Perhpas you know of a paper that has been written on this subject that I could review for myself?

I appreciate your help. My company is Voigt Lighting we are in Garfield, NJ, phone number is 973.928.2252. My e mail is paul@voigtlighting.com.

thx,
paul

I tried to find an email address for you on your blog but no luck.

I work for a corporate communications consultancy in the UK and I wanted to sound you out about a project that I’m working on.

Could you let me know the best way to get in touch so that I can send you a bit more information?

My email address is chris.lauwerys@bluerubicon.com. Perhaps you might send me yours, then I reply to you.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Kind regards
Chris

Thank you for the questions. You will find my answers below.

Question:
Why didn’t GE sell cfl’s right away in the 70′s?

Answer:
GE Lighting had already made a major decision to develop a low wattage (20 watt HID) high intensity discharge lamp and could not afford to develop both types of lamps at the same time because of the large developmental capital expense. In the long run, that certainly did not prove to be the best decision but even big companies don’t always predict the future correctly.

Question:
Did you know mercury was hazardous when you first invented them?

Answer:
All 92 elements in the Periodic Table can be hazardous to your health if used inappropriately. In the case of fluorescent lamps, the element of mercury itself is not normally hazardous to health unless directly digested. However, if the mercury then comes into contact with water, it can become soluble. But even soluble mercury is not hazardous unless bacteria convert it to methyl mercury. Fish can then digest the methyl mercury and it then can get into the food chain. On a health scale of 1 to 10, I rate radioactive elements in category 10 and fluorescent lamps in category 1.

Question:
Have cfls changed from your original design?

Answer:
No, my original CFL lamp is on display in the Smithsonian Institute and basically looks like the present day TCP product.

Question:
Was their another substance you could put in cfls besides mercury?

Answer:
No, mercury is the best element to use because it has the best ultraviolet resonance radiation that excites the phosphor to produce visible light. It is Mother Nature’s first choice. I have made inert lamps without mercury but they are only marginally more efficient than incandescent lamps.

Question:
Was it your idea to put mercury in cfls?

Answer:
Yes, but remember that mercury has been used in all fluorescent lamps since they were first introduced at the New York World’s Fair in 1939.

Thank you and keep asking your questions because that is the way to make the world a better place for all of us.

Many thanks – Ed

Why didn’t GE sell cfl`s right away in the 70`s?

Did you know mercury was hazardous when you first invented them?

Have cfls changed from your original design?

Was their another substance you could put in cfls besides mercury?

Was it your idea to put mercury in cfls?