Introduction
These bulbs are widely promoted as a green product and are now widespread in most homes. They are made by a large number of different manufacturers and most people believe that there is not much to choose between them. However there are some things to be aware of when choosing a bulb in the shop.
1) Electro Magnetic Radiation
Compact fluorescent bulbs emit a lot more EM radiation than standard incandescent or fluorescent bulbs and the amount of radiation varies a lot between different manufacturers and between different models produced by the same manufacturer. EM Radiation can induce health effects in some people who are especially sensitive and there is widespread concern about long term effects caused by EM fields generated by mobile phones, power lines etc. The older style fluorescent tubes used a magnetic ballast operating at 50Hz and this type generates very small amounts of EMR. The newer compact bulbs designed to fit standard sockets use an electronic ballast operating at 150Khz which radiates much more EMR. In the future the manufacturers will probably take steps to reduce the EMR but this is not happening at present.
2) Start-up performance
All these bulbs are much dimmer when they are first switched on and most of them take about 5 minutes to reach full brightness. Again there is a lot of variation. They also slow down even more in cold temperatures so its important to consider this when buying a bulb for an outside light.
TEST RESULTS
| Style |
Power
(W)
|
EMR
(mV)
at 50 cm |
Start-up
light output (Lumens) |
||||
| 5 sec | 15 sec | 1 min | 5 min | ||||
| TESCO FLE11 TBX/GLS/827 | Bulb |
11
|
4.5
|
36 | 99 | 366 | 667 |
| MAZDA 4L ELECTRONIC | Tube |
11
|
7.5
|
366 | 447 | 603 | 667 |
| PHILIPS GENIE 797254 | Tube |
11
|
4.4
|
366 | 546 | 737 | 737 |
| PHILIPS ECOTONE | Tube |
18
|
13.9
|
546 | 737 | 995 | 995 |
| PHILIPS GENIE 797278 | Tube |
18
|
7.4
|
603 | 900 | 1100 | 1100 |
| LYVIA | Tube |
20
|
17.5
|
603 | 737 | 995 | 995 |
| PHILIPS PL ELECTRONIC T | Tube |
20
|
19.6
|
603 | 737 | 995 | 995 |
| PHILIPS SOFTONE (POLAND) | Bulb |
20
|
4.4
|
271 | 447 | 603 | 814 |
| PANASONIC EFT20E28 | Bulb |
20
|
7.8
|
271 | 494 | 814 | 900 |
| MAZDA 6L ELECTRONIC | Tube |
23
|
41.6
|
603 | 737 | 1100 | 1100 |
| STANDARD INCANDESCENT | Bulb |
100
|
0
|
1215 | 1215 | 1215 | 1215 |
| STANDARD FLUORESCENT | Tube |
40
|
0.3
|
||||
Notes:
1) EMR was measured with simple
rod antenna and detector at 50cm
2) Brightness was measured in EV with Weston meter and converted to lumens
using formula =INT(EXP(EV)*1100/2697)
Other Comments
Each energy saving bulb contains about 5mg mercury which is very toxic and causes long term pollution when it is disposed in landfill. So it is important to separate these bulbs from other refuse and avoid breaking them. Most councils have not yet woken up to this problem.
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be sent to Letters
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1251
See also Mobile Phones / Safety Feature Article