Change a Bulb, Change the Channel 08 Jun 07
For some time now, we’ve been experiencing the intermittent phenomenon of our TV (or to be precise, our digital TV box) changing channels and adjusting the volume without anyone using, or even being near to, the remote controller. The problem occurs just once each evening and then disappears as quickly as it started. At first we figured that the digi-box must have been picking up signals from another remote controller somewhere, but then don’t remotes work using infra-red and require line of sight to the receiver?
Now, finally, we believe the culprit has been identified. A couple of months ago, we fitted an energy saving CFL bulb into the small lamp that sits above the TV. What we’ve discovered is that when the channel-changing issue occurs, its always just a few moments after this lamp has been switched on. It seems that as the bulb warms up it gives off infra-red light that, for just a brief period, is at the right frequency to interfere with the digi-box receiver.
We’d never heard of this problem before, but a quick search online shows that the phenomenon has been noted elsewhere and in some cases actually renders the remote controller useless for periods of up to an hour. The good news is that not all brands of CFL bulbs are affected by the problem and the range of the infra-red, for those that are affected, is short enough that moving the lamp further away from the TV can stop the problem.
Yahoo’s 18seconds.org campaign does state “Change a Bulb, Change Everything”, we just didn’t know that included the TV channel.
Posted by Nev in Going Green , TV with tags cfl, eco-friendly, electricity, energy, energy saving bulbs, green, light bulb, tv
