QTND 31: Buzzing Lights

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Dear Rae,

I don't know if there's anything that can be done about the noisy lights, but some are quiet, and some loud and ringing, so something is different between them. I'd love it if all could be quiet. What do you think?

Liz Churchill

The ballasts in the fluorescent lights are getting old and are prone to malfunctioning. That's what produces the irritating buzzing sound. B&G has been looking into the feasibility of replacing all the ballasts with new electronic units. Once that's done, Mudd will be a much quieter place.

But until that project is completed (and I don't know when that will be), the noisy lights have to be dealt with one at a time, as they crop up. So please report those problems to us. We'll check them out and ask B&G to replace the bad units.

—RAE 10/11/96

One of the great benefits of the recent lighting project is the fact that the old ballasts were all replaced with new electronic ones that are very energy efficient. No more buzzing.

--RAE 2/16/04

Last updated:
October 6, 2012