Large CFLs

er, large CFLs? ;-)

I had one Indian client who was after some 6500K ES CFLs. He had one in BC which he'd bought back home and liked the colour of the light better than the 3500Ks he commonly found over here. I guess the big tulip/daisy shapes you saw may be native to those parts of the world* too.

• forrin :-)

er, large CFLs? ;-)

I had one Indian client who was after some 6500K ES CFLs. He had one in BC which he'd bought back home and liked the colour of the light better than the 3500Ks he commonly found over here. I guess the big tulip/daisy shapes you saw may be native to those parts of the world* too.

I realise that Large and "Compact" are a bit at odds - They were amazingly bright as only 8 were needed for the shop. It would be interesting to know the wattage. I don't think I will go in and look as I don't need a Sari.

There must be a market for them - I would like a couple in my kitchen if they were in a suitable luminaire.

• forrin :-)

I've occasionally wondered about that. ISTM with the tubular/folded nature of CFLs we common get in the UK, most of their light is radiated sideways - from the length of the tubes. In ordinary lightshades that were designed for tungsten filament bulbs, that was fine as their light radiated away from the fitting. However, for CFLs the light coming off the sides of the lights would either hit the less- reflective sides of the shade or would illuminate sideways at bulb-height, which isn't very useful. So while the isotropic measurement of luminosity could well be accurate (and make them equivalent of whatever tungsten bulb they are meant to replace), in practice a lot of that light is wasted.

It sounds like your asian friend has found some bulbs that are better designed to down-light (and with refelctors above, would waste less light. If your light fittings would take them, they sound like a much more sensible design

I wonder if it was these?

I wonder if it was these?

In message , DerbyBoy writes

I've been wondering for some time why they don't make 'normal' CFLs like that.

Well, not quite like that. I was thinking more of having only three or four tulip 'petals', clover leaf fashion, angled at (say) 30 to 45 degrees to the vertical (ie 'petals' partially opened). They would certainly be a useful alternative to the type where the tube loops back and forth on itself, as these tend to be too long for some applications.

Not until someone imports them, shipping from Greece is more than the lamp.

AJH

Not until someone imports them, shipping from Greece is more than the lamp.

AJH

Until then we have to cope with the miserable gloom from from the ones we currently import.

Are you sure they were CFLs and not Metal Halide discharge lamps?

Alternatively "Daylight" CFLs can appear very much brighter than the normal dinginess one expects from them.

They're really only a 2-D mini-fluorescent with integral electronics and fancier tubing. ISTR them being mentioned here, or maybe it was on the box, a few weeks ago, but I can't find a post. From my limited experience of high wattage CFLs -- high prices, long warm-up times and short lifetimes -- I'd be very reluctant to buy one. Why not make a "flower" with a ring of the giveaway ones mounted horizontally (if they'll work that way?)

This sounds like thinking along the lines of: "CFLs are the solution to the world's problems, so let's grow the technology." But with lifetimes < 1 year, there needs to be a cradle-to-grave re-evaluation as to whether they really save any energy overall.

Quite frankly, if you want to light a large area like a shop, at that size, power, and price, you'd do better to fit conventional fluorescents with their much longer lifetime and fast startup, albeit not so pretty, though there are aesthetically-acceptable circular fluorescents IMHO.

Chris

I use a 35W CDM-T flood light with a dusk til dawn sensor on the front on my house. Everyone thinks that it is a 500W halogen floodlight. Crisp white light and low running costs.

I wish that I could find an attractive fitting for the "aesthetically- acceptable circular" tubes. Most look like they have been in the shop since 1970. I once saw a decent one in a National Trust cafe- tracked down the maker and it turned out they cost about =A3160 each.

There's always this for the OP:

I've seen similar Chinese high-power CFLs in other countries, but not previously in the EU. I did wonder if there was a certification thing... perhaps they give out too much UV or something? If they're legal in Greece, I wonder why nobody imports them to the UK?

Theo

About £75, but that was 8 years ago.

JM