does anybody know why lights here take so long to turn on after you flip the switch? in the US, you flip it and snap, it’s on. here it takes a long time. i can understand neons doing that, but even regular bulbs? what gives?
also, why are there no grounds on the outlets and why do people put the switch outside the room as opposed to inside? more than one question.sorry.
[quote=“rantheman”]does anybody know why lights here take so long to turn on after you flip the switch? in the US, you flip it and snap, it’s on. here it takes a long time. I can understand neons doing that, but even regular bulbs? what gives?
also, why are there no grounds on the outlets and why do people put the switch outside the room as opposed to inside? more than one question.sorry.[/quote]
If you’re talking about fluorescents, it’s because of cheap-ass starters being used. But I’ve never seen this with incandescent bulbs - it’s always immediate unless you’ve got a bad switch.
No grounds on the outlet - yes, a very STUPID idea. Makes it easy to get electrocuted, and can damage sensitive electrical equipment. Ditto for putting the switch outside the room - just lazy electricians. Something you didn’t mention but I’ll mention - only one power outlet in the entire room (even in the kitchen where you have many electrical appliances).
You might as well ask why Taiwanese drive on the wrong side of the road. Or why the traffic lights are on the wrong side of the road (take a good look at them, it’s true!). Maybe they put traffic lights on the wrong side of the road because people drive on the wrong side of the road.
cheers,
DB
And why are homes built without closets?
And why do you have to put paste on stamps with a paint brush?
I changed most of the lights when I moved to my new place. Those long, white lights made me feel like I was in a hospital. Changing them to nice “brown” lights really made the rooms feel warmer and more comfortable.
cheap starters. i thought it was something like that,or a capaci-whatchamacallit.
It’s not just cheap starters, sometimes it is also the wrong starters. I found this out after taking apart our kitchen light to find out why it was taking about 20-30 seconds to light up. (It had gotten so bad that I wouldn’t bother turning the light on a lot of the time and just got good at finding things in the dark.) Anyways, the starters are each rated for a certain range of wattage. You should match the wattage of the bulb to the wattage of the starter. The wattage of the bulb should fall as close to the middle of the wattage range of the starter for optimal turn on time. Also getting the branded (in most cases Philips) starters will be better than the generics. Once I matched up the wattage of the bulb and the wattage of the starter in the kitchen, it came on in just a couple of seconds. Unfortunately flourescents always have some amount of lag to light up, but getting the right starter for the bulb will make a big difference.
[quote=“Mother Theresa”]And why do you have to put paste on stamps with a paint brush?[/quote]Good one…also envelopes.
wow jslick! i learned a lot from you!
And another thing. Sometimes the voltage is too low. I have just checked mine: 104.3 - that getting borderline on not being able to start a flourescent tube, and will require the capacitor to charge for longer before firing. Probably.
There is no ground on the outlet because most buildings don’t have a grounding to begin with. As well the use of ELCBs/RCDs (those devices disconnect the circuit when there is a short to ground) is not common here, so even you have a ground at your outlet it might not bring you much if any benefit.
In particular electrical circuits for wetrooms (bathroom, laundry etc.) should have an ELCB/RCD, but often this is ignored.
Switches outside? Seen it overseas as well. IMHO it depends mostly on the room or layout. Bathrooms often have the switch outside for safety reasons or the switch is illuminated (when on) so that you can see if the light is/has been left on.
[quote=“rantheman”]does anybody know why lights here take so long to turn on after you flip the switch? in the US, you flip it and snap, it’s on. here it takes a long time. I can understand neons doing that, but even regular bulbs? what gives?[/quote]Are you using slow electricity instead of fast electricity ? you might want to get upgraded. Ask Rascal to explain the difference
[quote]why do people put the switch outside the room as opposed to inside? [/quote]If the switch is inside, how are you supposed to find the switch when it’s dark ? :loco: