My Experenice of the Philips SL is that they are extremely dim when first fired up in the cold- more so than many other CFL's, and when very cold will not stay struck initially and flicker on and off for upto a minute.
I cant think this does much for tube life??
I've found the El Cheapo IKEA's CFL's to be the best overall. Just get the highest wattage ones they do.
Tim..
The SL range were the first compact fluorescents, with magnetic ballasts and glow startes, dating back to about 1980. I don't think they're manufacturered any more. I still have a couple of opal SL13's, and a clear SL25. The first was the SL18, and there was also an outdoor SL18 with spherical outer and all water-proof joints, and a special outdoor fitting which used it.
I have had occasion yesterday to open one, and repair the ballast (the light was intermittent, which seems to have been fixed with a resolder), and I'd be surprised if the heat from the circuitry much exceeded 10%.
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