This morning we had a brownout where the voltage was only 50 volts.
I went to the bathroom and noticed the LED bulbs (3x LSG 40w.e.) were unusually dim. First thing I thought was the bulbs were failing, but all three wouldn't be at the same brightness like that. So I turned on the bathroom fan... and it barely worked. Then for sure I knew it was a brownout.
I tested different devices and lights to see how the low voltage affected them.
LED bulbs handled the low voltage quite fine. The Cree TW 60w.e. seemed to be at or near full brightness, thought it took a short moment to turn on whereas on normal voltage it would turn on instantly.
The Philips 60w.e. Basic bulbs in the ceiling fan worked dimly, but they flickered a bit.
The big 32w OptoLight CFL worked, dimly though, but a few seconds after turning it on it flickered a lot. And the color was more white or slightly purplish white, instead of the usual warm brownish white.
The fluorescent tube light above the sink didn't work at all.
The two eco-smart (TCP) "Bright white" CFLs in the hallway were interesting. When I turned them on, they worked for a moment, then the arcs failed and their filaments just glowed. I turned them on and off a few times and sometimes one bulb will stay lit for a little while after the other went out, but finally die anyway.
They looked really cool with the filaments glowing.
The low-voltage halogen desk lamp just simply glowed dimly.
The ceiling fan was very weak.
Also, all switching power supplies didn't work at all.
I quickly tested the voltage with a volt meter and it read 50 volts. Wow, that is so low!
It was an analogue meter and I saw the needle jitter a little bit, but I wasn't sure if that was actually the voltage fluctuating or just me vibrating the meter making the needle move.
After this I went back to the bathroom and noticed the red GFCI light was lit. The red light on the GFCI is supposed to light up when the GFCI fails, so the light tells you that the GFCI needs to be replaced. But apparently the low voltage screwed it up.
So I went to do what I was going to do, and right when I was in the middle of doing it, the power went out. Good thing there was a window and it was daytime.
Later the power went back on and everything was fine. GFCI doesn't have that red light glowing anymore so that's fine.
Wow, I've never seen a brownout before. That was really cool!
I went to the bathroom and noticed the LED bulbs (3x LSG 40w.e.) were unusually dim. First thing I thought was the bulbs were failing, but all three wouldn't be at the same brightness like that. So I turned on the bathroom fan... and it barely worked. Then for sure I knew it was a brownout.
I tested different devices and lights to see how the low voltage affected them.
LED bulbs handled the low voltage quite fine. The Cree TW 60w.e. seemed to be at or near full brightness, thought it took a short moment to turn on whereas on normal voltage it would turn on instantly.
The Philips 60w.e. Basic bulbs in the ceiling fan worked dimly, but they flickered a bit.
The big 32w OptoLight CFL worked, dimly though, but a few seconds after turning it on it flickered a lot. And the color was more white or slightly purplish white, instead of the usual warm brownish white.
The fluorescent tube light above the sink didn't work at all.
The two eco-smart (TCP) "Bright white" CFLs in the hallway were interesting. When I turned them on, they worked for a moment, then the arcs failed and their filaments just glowed. I turned them on and off a few times and sometimes one bulb will stay lit for a little while after the other went out, but finally die anyway.
They looked really cool with the filaments glowing.
The low-voltage halogen desk lamp just simply glowed dimly.
The ceiling fan was very weak.
Also, all switching power supplies didn't work at all.
I quickly tested the voltage with a volt meter and it read 50 volts. Wow, that is so low!
It was an analogue meter and I saw the needle jitter a little bit, but I wasn't sure if that was actually the voltage fluctuating or just me vibrating the meter making the needle move.
After this I went back to the bathroom and noticed the red GFCI light was lit. The red light on the GFCI is supposed to light up when the GFCI fails, so the light tells you that the GFCI needs to be replaced. But apparently the low voltage screwed it up.
So I went to do what I was going to do, and right when I was in the middle of doing it, the power went out. Good thing there was a window and it was daytime.
Later the power went back on and everything was fine. GFCI doesn't have that red light glowing anymore so that's fine.
Wow, I've never seen a brownout before. That was really cool!
