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Fluorescent light bulbs

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GV2NIX

Member
Joined
Jan 17, 2004
Location
Pyeongtaek, South Korea
Hello, I'm not sure if this is really the place for this, but it's sort of related to my rig, so I guess it's not inappropriate.

Anyways, I have a question regarding flourescent light bulbs (the kind you screw into incandescent light bulb sockets). If I have a socket that is rated for up to 60W, does that mean I can use up to a 60W fluorescent light bulb in it also? A 60W fluorescent bulb would equal like a 300W incandescent light bulb in terms of lumens, but as long as it's only drawing 60W, I'm not going to blow any fuses right?
 
Yep, up to 60W draw. Although, you'll never hit that with these bulbs. I have 60W flourescent bulbs, says they are rated at 14W and .2A. Theoretically you can screw 4 bulbs into the one socket and still be under the limits of the socket. (@ 56W total.) You'll be fine ;)
 
Look at my sticky about Ohm's law in GCRD. Actually, the 60watt rating on the lamp socket has nothing to do with popping breakers. For a standard 15 amp line, you would need at least 30 bulbs to pop a breaker.

The reason that a lamp will be rated for a certain bulb size has to do with the surface temperature of the bulb. A 100 watt bulb willl be hotter than a 60 watt bulb (try touching the bulb in your fridge and you will see. Odds are that it is a 15 watt bulb.) If you put a 100 watt bulb into a small lampshade, the best case is that it slowly degrades as it oxidizes and the volatiles in the plastic evaporate. The worst case is that it catches fire one day. Of course, a compact flourescent bulb is cool to the touch, so that is not a concern there.
 
Oh, wow, very informative, thank you! I figured they put wattage ratings on lamps because certain groupings of power lines in a house are only rated for a certain amount of current, but then that wouldn't make sense, because not everyone's hose is wired the same way.

Yeah, that makes perfect sense, eventually a bulb that emits too much heat will cause a breakdown of a lampshade after a while. That's why those banker lamps wtih the glass shade are usually 100W lamps I guess. Alright, so given the fact that CFLs will never run as hotly as an incandescent bulb, I guess I can put whatever I want in there! The most powerful CFL I've been able to find is only 30W though, I guess they just don't make them that powerful yet. Well, maybe just for automobile headlamps or something.
 
In our ceiling fan there are 4 bulbs, each with a separate glass shade. It takes (and recommends) these minature bulbs, I think like 40 or 60W each. A bulb burnt out once, and all we had were 60 or 100W (I don't remeber which I used) normal sized bulbs. I put it in there, flipped the lights on, and within 5 minutes the bulb exploded. :shrug:
 
Thanks for the info guys. Just got a SunWave 30W CFL (120-150W equivalent) and it's pretty damn bright! It has a good spectrum too (5550° Kelvin) compared to the, like, 1° Kelvin color temp of incandescent light bulbs! Very bright, very white, and only uses 30W. I highly recommend this bulb if any of you are looking to use CFLs. Beats the pants off of the GE "Reveal" series.
 
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