"Max 60W"

Nov 08, 2016 23 Replies

I don't know what the figures are, but incandescent bulbs lose a lot of heat by IR radiation and also by convection around the often well ventilated glass bulb. If LED replacements are going to lose most of their heat by conduction from the base and limited convection around the lower part of the bulb then existing fittings may well not cool them as effectively as incandescent bulbs dissipating the same amount of heat.

A poor PF ought not alter the actual amount of real power dissipated, even though it will change the peak current somewhat.

Indeed. You also need to be careful what question you are actually asking. The "Max 60W" claim on many light fittings is the thermal limit for the protection of the fitting itself. However there is a different question which is what is the maximum power dissipation of the low energy lamp that will keep the lamp running below a temperature where it kills itself even if the fitting itself is never under threat.

This can be a problem. With tungsten all the fitting has to do is not actually burst into flames with the heat. As it were. However, decent cooling of the electronics is necessary for both CFL and LED.

So it's possible a totally enclosed fitting might be fine with tungsten, but cause a LED to overheat.

Yup, its the lamp that has the problem rather than the fitting in these cases.

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