Notes: |
This otherwise unremarkable
lamp deserves a mention purely for its truly diminutive size if nothing
else. Cheap CFL's with dimensions equal to their equivalent
incandescent rivals are unusual. Generally I have found that
such compact products fall far, far short of their claims in terms of
output, only those from the big manufacturers such as Philips and GE
managing to live up to their claims. This one however does
seem to have pulled it off, not only does it succeed in producing more
light than your garden variety 40W incandescent...but it's actually
*smaller* than a normal PS60 incandescent lamp!
How this
has been achieved is quite clever, in that the designers of this lamp
have managed to cram a 4-U style T-8 tube into a base just 50mm in
diameter. This is actually smaller than many spiral designs
of the same wattage I have seen. The use of 4 rather than the
usual 2 or 3 sections of tube allows the overall length to be reduced
considerably. Also of note, is that the ballast compartment
actually protrudes above the base, some components actually mounted in
the area between the tubes. While good for creating a compact
lamp, this may not bode well for the longevity of the lamp, as
components in that area will inevitably operate at higher temperatures
than present elsewhere. A compromise however that the
designers obviously saw fit to make however. For lamps to be
created so small, measures like this generally have to be made in this
country, as the ballast always takes up a certain amount of space - in
Japan, more compact lamps can be created due to the mains electricity
supply being rated to 100V - making it possible to design very small
ballasts. In this case though, if the lamp managed to last
for even 5000 hours, that is still 5 times as long as the incandescent
lamp it is indented to replace would have lasted - and during those
5000 hours, it will have saved a considerable amount of energy, as with
many cheaper lamps, it is the energy saving that is being sold, not the
lifetime. Hence the fact that the lifetime of this lamp is
not indicated anywhere on the lamp body or the packaging.
Certainly one of the more interesting cheap lamps I've found over time
anyway. |