The lighting industry is developing rapidly. It seems that energy-saving light bulbs have recently appeared. At first, consumers were repelled by their high price, the presence of mercury, and the unusual shade of light. Now they are used everywhere, and in Europe, conventional incandescent lamps are already completely difficult to find. Why are they good and how different from their predecessors?
Firstly, the name "energy-saving light bulbs" is just a publicity stunt. In fact, the "housekeeper" is a well-known fluorescent discharge lamp for a long time. In total there are two types of such lamps: compact integrated and not integrated. They differ from each other only in the presence or absence of an electronic starter. The integrated ones have a built-in starter and they are usually equipped with a base that allows them to be used instead of incandescent lamps. Non-integrated electronic starter lamps do not have and can only be installed in lighting fixtures in which it is built-in (table lamps, for example).
However, the history of the name and technic althe subtleties of the design are unlikely to interest the consumer. For him, the quality of light, reliability and cost-effectiveness of the goods are important. But this is where the most doubts and disputes arise. After all, energy-saving light bulbs are significantly more expensive than conventional incandescent ones, and many are wondering: "Will such a purchase be justified?" Let's try to figure it out.
Energy-saving light bulbs, being, as already mentioned, gas-discharge, consume 3-5 times less electricity per unit of light than conventional incandescent lamps. Meanwhile, the built-in electronics (starter) make them more sensitive to voltage drops and frequent on-off. In most cases, the manufacturer, when calculating the number of working hours of an energy-saving lamp, assumes that it will turn on and off once a day. This explains the fact that the service life of such lamps in offices is two to three times longer than at home. In addition, you should know that an energy-saving light bulb has a so-called burn-in period (reaching the brightest glow), which occurs only after 100-200 hours of burning. After that, the brightness weakens and after a year it can decrease to 70% of the declared value. And yet, if an energy-saving light bulb works for at least a year, it will fully pay for itself, both in terms of energy savings and in terms of the required number of incandescent lamps that will have to be bought over the same period. For comparison: the service life of a 60 W incandescent lamp, according to manufacturers, is no more than 1000 hours. A 20 watt energy saving lampis guaranteed for 4000 hours.
As for the quality of light, in terms of color rendering and chromaticity, modern energy-saving light bulbs are much superior to their predecessors. Expensive fluorescent lamps use a five-band phosphor to bring artificial light as close as possible to daylight sunlight.
In addition, thanks to modern technology, it has become possible to make fluorescent lamps with any color, from yellow to ultraviolet. However, all of the above applies only to expensive (from $ 5) models. A cheaper energy-saving light bulb will not live up to expectations, as it gives "bad light", and the low-quality components used in it rarely allow it to last more than a year.
