In , snipped-for-privacy@optonline.net wrote in part:
I just tried operating a 23W CFL inside an 8 inch globe on top of a single-socket floor lamp (base-down).
Globe temperature was 27 C (80.5 F) just before I turn on the CFL.
After slightly less than half an hour, the globe temperature was
51 C (124 F) on the top, and 37 C (98.5 F) halfway up - on the outside.
If a 23W CFL operates base-up in an 8-inch globe, its electronics will get on the hot side.
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CFLs are usually more efficient at producing convected and conducted heat than incandescents, despite being more efficient at producing light. What incandescents are more efficient at producing is infrared - most of which escapes most fixtures before becoming heat.
I once tried measuring temperature rise of that 8 inch globe with a
60W incandescent and a 42W CFL. The 42W CFL heated up the globe slightly more than the 60W incandescent did.
Except, of course, the tungsten bulb they are designed to replaces and which has been flashing on marquees and roller coasters for years. I think that's part of the dissatisfaction with CFL's. They are certainly not a 1 to 1 replacement. The high wattage ones are huge and I find fit in very few fixtures that say a 150W tungsten would. They also don't dim worth a damn and wreak havoc with home automation gear. That's why I believe LED's will eventually bury CFLs. They have a far greater potential to be an uncompromised replacement for the tungsten bulb.
Perhaps the new bulbs are better but I have three that take 5 minutes to warm up. They are N:vision floods from HomeDepot and one of them just failed quite noisily filling the inside of the floodlight with small, black soot-like particles. Not quite ready for prime time, IMHO although I do like the savings on the electric bill and their cool running ability, especially in the summertime.
Just one old Pharts opinion, read Atlas Shrugged by Ann Rand to understand why you are buying mercury filled light bulbs to use in your home when you could be using a proven item.
There is a CFL type to replace those - even though the incandescents usually used there are not subject to the 2012-2014 "ban" because their design light output is less than 310 lumens.
As for CFL type that is good for blinking duty such as in marquees: There is such a thing! That is the cold cathode type.
These are mostly available in wattages around/under 8 watts. They usually replace incandescents of wattage 10-25 watts.
These are better-available from online outfits such as bulbs.com and their online competitors. There is a 3-watt version that I have seen in Lowes and Home Depot.
Cold cathode CFLs tend to be less efficient than hot cathode ones are, in wattages where both options are available. However, the cold cathode ones are still 3-plus times as efficient as the incandescents that they replace.
Cold cathode CFLs, unlike the usual hot cathode fluorescents, do not suffer electrode wear from starting. They can fairly easily survive being turned on and off every second 24/7/365 for 2 years!
Many, maybe most, of cold cathode CFLs are rated as dimmable. Furthermore, their rated life expectancy appears to me limited by wear of their phosphor or electronic failure or breakage. Their rated life expectancy appears to me typically 20,000 hours - much longer than usual of the usual "hot cathode" CFLs. Especially in light of hot cathode CFLs of wattage 7 watts or less having less life expectancy than that of hot cathode CFLs 13 watts or more.
I have found cold cathode CFLs being used in Las Vegas by multitudes of thousands.
One CFL downside not fixed by cold-cathode technology: If the whole bulb has been off for a while, next time it gets turned on, it will start dim and need a minute or two to warm up. Dim-cold-starts and long-warmup-times typical of CFLs with outer bulbs apply to cold cathode CFLs. However, cold cathode CFLs tend to mostly warm-up within 5 minutes even if they are in blinking duty.
I find that they handle it far better than incandescents! I've been using CFLs in places where incandescents just won't work (e.g. sandblast cabinet) with good success.
probably the short life is due to overheating as the man said, base up and enclosed are two things specifically warned against on the packaging of some CFLs.
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