High capacity low energy bulbs

[Andrew Gabriel]

I don't see anything about operating position.

Higher powered CFL's are available in retail outlets in the US than you find in retail outlets here. However, anything above about 25-30W comes with a warning that they must be operated base-down through to horizontal, but never base-up, as the heat from the tube will overheat the electronic control gear in the base.

This is just speculation on my part, but one reason you might not see those here is that the British and EU standards on measuring lamp life of GLS lamps requires when to be operated base up. If the same applies to retrofit CFL's (I don't know if it does), then these high power ones are only going to get a rather short operating life before electronic ballast is cooked by the heat from the tube.

[chris French]

In message , Andrew Gabriel writes

My 45w didn't come with any such warning.

[David Hansen]

On Fri, 14 Jul 2006 08:02:33 +0100 someone who may be Guy King wrote this:-

The real question is why anyone would use ES, when BC is such a superior design.

[ARWadsworth]

The very attractive manageress with long black hair at IKEA has informed me that BC are to be phased out under new EU laws. IKEA have told her so.

It must be correct then!!!

Adam

[Helen Deborah Vecht]

Guy King typed

Me, except in kitchen and bathroom which take R63 and R80 ES reflector bulbs repectively.

[Guy King]

The message from "ARWadsworth" contains these words:

But BC work so much better. You can even get shrouded versions in which the pins retract when the bulb is withdrawn. Not easy to do with ES, I wouldn't think.

Not that I can see why they've bothered with BC either. Bit like those silly dummy plugs to stop toddlers poking things into sockets. Sockets have been shuttered since the 60s and any that aren't should be replaced. Toddlers than can overcome the shutters deserve a short sharp lesson as they are obviously not suited to life in modern Britain where going against the grain is no longer acceptable.