An investigation of the response of incandescent lamps and compact fluorescent lamps to voltage fluctuations

This paper describes a laboratory-based investigation to compare the effects of voltage fluctuations on incandescent lighting and several common, commercially-available compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs). The lamps that were tested were 60W incandescent and 60W equivalent CFLs, which were designed for a 120V, 60Hz system. In this test, two incandescent and three compact fluorescent lamps were put through identical tests in order to determine their steady state response to long voltage fluctuations as well as their response to short duration voltage fluctuations. In every situation tested, the visible performance of the CFLs was superior to that of the incandescent lamps. The detailed results of these tests, comparisons, and conclusions are presented.