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More than 200 solid-state fluorescent ballasts were installed in representative areas of a federal medical center in Long Beach, CA, to determine the cost effectiveness of such an installation. The power and illumination levels in the test sites were measured first as they initially existed, then after the fixtures were cleaned and relamped with energy-saving fluorescent lamps, and finally after the core-coil ballasts were replaced with solid-state ballasts. The annual energy savings for the completed retrofit was measured as 33.9 percent. In the director's suite natural daylight was used to supplement the electrical illumination, providing an additional 20-25 percent energy savings. Thus in that area the total annual energy savings amounted to 48 percent. All of the measured data are analyzed on the basis of life-cycle costing. The analyses are presented on sets of curves relating the cost-effective price of a ballast to the cost of electrical energy.

Solid-state ballasts were placed in fluorescent lamps in various areas of a hospital to determine if these high-frequency systems would adversely affect any hospital operations. The general areas tested included a lobby and an office space. Potentially sensitive areas containing hospital diagnostic and monitoring equipment, including a computerized axial tomography (CAT) scanning room, an electroencephalograph (EEG) examination room, and a coronary ward were also tested. The measurement techniques are described and the results discussed with respect to the existing radio-frequency interference (RFI) environment and with respect to electromagnetic interference (EMI) radiated and conducted limits specified by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the Federal Drug Administration (FDA).

Energy-efficient light bulbs are being developed to replace the incandescent lamp where they can satisfy the design criteria and be used in'sockets that have long hours of annual use. The four technologies discussed include the compact fluorescent lamp, coated-filament lamp, electrodeless fluorescent lamp, and ' compact high-intensity discharge lamp. The systems demonstrate efficacy improvements of two to four times that of their incandescent counterparts. These new lamps have required considerable advances in lamp technology. They offer the potential for achieving efficacies close to 80 Im/W. These new lamps will reduce the energy used annually by incandescent lamps (190 billion kWh) by more than 50 percent in the 1990' s, at which times they will be commonly employed.