Energy efficient CFLs not as bright as claimed
January 12th, 2010 - 2:21 pm ICT by IANSSydney, Jan 12 (IANS) You are probably right if you suspect that your new compact fluorescent lamp (CFL) is not as bright as the old bulb that it replaced.
Most new CFLs fail to live up to manufacturers’ claims that they emit as much light as
a 75-watt incandescent lamp, as tests by a team of University of New South Wales (UNSW) optics researchers have shown.
Most performed poorly regardless of retail price. Only one in four meets the minimum standard required in other countries to justify a claim of equivalence to an incandescent wattage for light emission.
The problem is not so much in the CFLs themselves but in the labelling that rates their
equivalence, says Stephen Dain, UNSW professor and study author.
“We found that in two-thirds of cases a CFL that is claimed to be the equivalent of a
75-watt incandescent lamp delivers a lot less light than you expected. Some are only
the equivalent of an old 60-watt lamp,” says Dain.
“The public seems to be disappointed when they replace an incandescent lamp with a CFL claimed to be equivalent. This study shows that they are really not as good as they are made out to be,” adds Dain.
Globe and spiral-shaped CFLs distributed light more evenly - much like incandescent
lamps - making them the best choice for unshaded light fittings, says an UNSW release.
Double, triple and quadruple biaxial CFL lamps tended to throw light sideways, with very little being directed downwards.
The study was published in Clinical and Experimental Optometry.
- Tamil Nadu bans incandescent bulbs to save power - Aug 20, 2010
- Uttar Pradesh to subsidise CFLs for consumers - Jun 13, 2010
- Uttar Pradesh could save 1,080 MW with CFLs: Official (Lead) - Jun 14, 2010
- Broken CFLs can be unsafe - Jul 07, 2011
- Campaign to promote fluorescent lamps - Jul 07, 2011
- Compact fluorescent energy saving lamp 'better than incandescent bulbs' - Oct 23, 2010
- Flourescent lamps hurt eyes - Oct 23, 2011
- Mercury makes eco-bulbs 'a health hazard for babies and pregnant' - Dec 23, 2010
- Energy saving light bulbs may be cancer causing - Apr 21, 2011
- India to install 400 million power saver lamps - Sep 21, 2010
- Karnataka mulls mandatory use of CFL bulbs - Feb 28, 2011
- Himachal launches green policy on used CFL lamps - Dec 11, 2011
- Kerala to distribute CFL bulbs to 75 lakh households - Mar 13, 2010
- Chandigarh to launch project to popularise CFLs - Feb 17, 2010
- Karunanidhi orders flying squads to detect power thefts - Oct 05, 2010
Tags: best choice, cfl, cfls, compact fluorescent lamp, dain, equivalence, incandescent lamp, incandescent lamps, light emission, new south wales, optics, optometry, retail price, spiral, study author, two thirds, university of new south wales, unsw, watt lamp, wattage