Don't let money go down the tubes

摘要

Old, halogen-phosphor fluorescent strip-lighting tubes are very inefficient compared with the latest energy-saving tri-phosphor tubes. The only snag is that you can't just take out the old tubes and put in new energy-efficient ones. Oh no. The new, super-duper tubes are shorter, narrower, and use a different, more energy-efficient ballast. So it does not make financial sense to rip out all your old fluorescent fittings and replace them with the new ones.