This project was conducted over 3.5 years as a pilot dissemination programme for centralized PV rural electrification. The purpose of the project is to transfer the techniques of design, construction, maintenance, and system evaluation, and evaluate the reliability of the PV system with a load including fluorescent lamps (FL). The paper describes the lifetime of a fluorescent lamps components and its efficiency. The average lifetime of a lamp is almost 1 year. The lamp efficiency is less than 50%. The tube is the most often damaged component.The replacement of the lamps affects the cost of the complete system. The cost can be reduced by prolonging the lamp lifetime. The efficiency, reliability and lifetime are very important especially in remote areas to avoid transportation costs. In many cases transportation is more costly than the lamps. Therefore the development of low cost, high quality, long life fluorescent lamps is needed.