What is the significance of Power Factor?
Power Factor is a complicated ratio of active vs. reactive power which measures energy quality, and the global transition away from incandescent bulbs is going to bring Power Factor to light as an important purchasing factor for consumers during the next few years. Lighting is one of the primary energy consumers in residential settings, and because incandescent bulbs have a perfect Power Factor of 1.0 utility companies have never needed to closely monitor residential Power Factor. However, CFL bulbs are made with varying Power Factor ratings, and recent research in New Zealand indicates that a massive infusion of low Power Factor CFLs will cause utility companies to introduce expensive corrective mechanisms which consumers will ultimately be forced to pay for. PureSpectrum’s ballast technology for both standard and dimmable CFLs is built with high Power Factor correction – above .9 – to ensure that consumers who choose products powered by PureSpectrum technology are not punished by the
