Monday, November 12, 2012

What determines the brightness of an energy-saving bulb


CFL vs incandescent
Left     : Energy-saving bulb, CFL
Right  : Incandescent bulb (filament)

Energy-saving bulbs, also known as compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) produce light more efficiently than their old incandescent counterparts. CFLs have done away with glowing filaments and instead contain a mixture of argon and mercury vapour.


A small electronic circuit called a ballast produces a rapidly oscillating current passing through the gas. The excited vapour molecules give off ultraviolet light that is converted into visible light by the coating on the inside of the bulb.


What determines it?

Like a conventional lamp, a CFL’s brightness depends on how much power it uses. Manufacturers vary properties like the volume and mix of the gas inside to increase or decrease consumption. For a given light output, CFLs use about a fifth as much power as their incandescent ancestors. As such, the lifetime cost of a CFL is so much lower.

The following table shows the comparison between LED, incandescent and CFLs. The figures are a year old and performance and cost may have since improved.

LED vs CFL vs incandescent
LED vs. Incandescent vs. CFLs. Source: iconnectdots


Reference: Sciencefocus

5 comments:

venkat said...

WOW! what a list! i’ll check to see if you have an updated one. thanks for the great info!
Questdial

Unknown said...

Nice post. It a good think if people started using LED lights and CLF instead of using the incandescent. This will beneficial for the electricity board and user because it will save lot of electricity.


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Clive O' Hagan said...

Energy-saving bulbs are also known as induction lights and LED light. They produce light more efficiently than any other old traditional lighting source. Induction lighting uses a different type of fluorescent bulb. Induction lights utilize a magnetic field generator to excite the phosphorus coating on the inside of a glass tube. This type of lighting technology provides several financial and environmental advantages over traditional fluorescent bulbs.

LEDRADIANT said...

Good informative article. Looking for bulbs then can visit wholesale led lights which will provide you the best high intensity bulb at affordable price.

Vuta Electrical said...

Checklist the factors involved for the brightness of an energy-saving bulb.Thanks for the post. You can check out the website Electrician in battlefield mo for best electrician who provide services at an optimal prices.