6-2 I E S LIGHTING HANDBOOK

Lamp Life and Depreciation

Rated lamp life is based on averages obtained from laboratory life-
testing of large numbers of lamps. The normal "mortality" curve for
incandescent lamps is shown in Fig. 6-2. Some lamps fail earlier than
rated life, others last longer. A perfect mortality record would be one in
which all lamps reached their rated life and then burned out. This is not
to be expected in practice.
The depreciation curve superim-
posed on the normal mortality curve
indicates that lamps which live sub-
stantially beyond rated life have be-
come relatively inefficient. From
an economic standpoint they should,
under many circumstances, be re-
placed before burnout. From the
normal mortality curve it will be
seen that at the end of rated life 55
per cent of the lamps remain burn-
ing, but those remaining lamps will
deliver only 6 to 8 per cent addi-
tional lumen-hours. These addi-
tional lumen-hours are the most ex-
pensive because they are being ob-
it
is economical to remove lamps from
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20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160
PER CENT OF RATED LIFE
FIG. 6-2. Curve showing reduc-
tion in light output during life of a
200-watt general-service incandescent
lamp superimposed on a typical in-
candescent-lamp mortality curve.
tained at decreased efficiency
service whenever the point is reached
at which the cost of energy consumed
per million lumen-hours exceeds the
average cost of light produced up
to
that time, including all charges
for lamps, energy, labor, and so forth.
The point beyond which it is not
economical to burn old lamps is termed the
"smashing point. (See Fig. 6-3).
The area under this curve represents
the total lumen-hours produced by
an assumed installation of lambs.
It is obtained by combining the mor-
tality curve with the typical depre-
ciation rate throughout life. The
darker-shaded part indicates the
logical smashing point region where
for the particular set of conditions
assumed it is more economical to
install new lamps than to keep the
old ones in service. The light-
shaded area represents the zone of
group replacement, that is, of re-
lamping the entire installation at
one time before the normal rate of
burnout reaches its peak.
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ECONOMICS
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20 40 60 80 100 120 140 I6<
PER CENT OF RATED LIFE
FIG. 6-3. Typical "smashing-
point" curve obtained by combining
a normal mortality curve with a
typical depreciation-throughout-life
curve.