CFL Choice- Full or Semi Spiral or Linear ?

There are a number of different designs of compact fluorescent lamps CFL on the market which can make it quite confusing to decide which is design is the best one to go for. Here we will look at the major types and review the advantages and disadvantages of these energy saving light bulbs.


Linear Tube CFL

The majority of the early CFL bulbs introduced in to the UK market were of the linear tube design as shown in the picture. . The linear CFL is just a long thin fluorescent tube which goes up vertically and then is looped back and this pattern can be repeated several times for high wattage light bulbs. These light bulbs are the cheapest to manufacturer and work well as an energy saving light bulb. The disadvantages of the linear CFL are two fold. Firstly, the look of the light bulb is rather cumbersome and quite odd certainly when compared to the traditional incandescent GLS bulb. It is not that the bulb is inherently gross from an aesthetic point of view but I think it is more the fact that the light bulb looks very different to what people generally expect a light bulb to look like and for this reason it is not rated highly from a visual perspective. The second issue is that because the design is thin and tall the bulbs are quite long in length and for this reason can be difficult to physically fit into a number of light fittings where there is a height restriction.


Semi Spiral CFL

The semi spiral light bulb has always been fairly common in the US market and has recently been introduced to the UK. The design of the CFL is shown in this picture. Again the semi spiral CFL is simply a long thin fluorescent tube which is looped around in a spiral shape but the first portion of the fluorescent tube just goes up vertically. Accordingly the semi spiral name is derived because this CFL is half linear and half spiral and therfore designated as a semi spiral. The overall look of the bulb is more akin to the traditional bulb and because of the fact that the fluorescent tube swings outwards it has a larger diameter than the linear CFL and accordingly the overall height can be reduced and the bulb will still produce a similar level of lumens output.



Full Spiral CFL

The final choice considered here is the full spiral CFL which is shown in this picture.

With the full spiral CFL the fluorescent tube spiral starts right at the base of the bulb and continues in a tight spiral to the top of the bulb. The benefits of this design is that because the spiral design is inherently more compact and because of the fact that the spiral starts lower, the overall dimensions of the bulb are less than the semi spiral CFL which gives it an overall more compact design. This is invariably important for the fitment into a number of closed light fittings or lanterns where there is a bulb height restriction. The aesthetic angle is clearly subjective and dependent on peoples individual views but I think that the compact proportions and shaping of the full spiral CFL make its looks more appealing than the semi spiral of linear CFL.

So from our perspective the Full Spiral CFL is the clear winner.

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Source (Copyright © 2018 Saving Light Bulbs) — https://www.saving-light-bulbs.co.uk/blog/cfl-choice-full-or-semi-spiral-or-linear/

Buying Exclusive LED Flat Panels: The Secrets

With tens of thousands of LED panels manufacturers as well as suppliers in today’s marketplace, it might prove hard to choose the best ones. As such, you must be careful, especially if it is your first time with the LED revolution. A quick glance should offer you the LED insights so as you can pick exclusive LED products capable of saving a substantial amount of power and even last longer. So, the following factors should be of help to you in deciding the best LED panels that can serve you for many years to come.

Light Guide Plate Plus its Driver

The LED panel’s quality is dependent on the light guide plate along with its driver. The light guide plate determines the light transmittance as well as power conversion efficiency. The power factor and the lifespan of the whole light system are determined by the driver. As such, it’s vital to ensure that you don’t compromise on the quality of these two important factors when purchasing panels. For instance, the 600×600 led ceiling panel has been manufactured with precision to serve you for years to come.

The Right Panel System

Now that you understand how crucial the two are, let’s deep dive into how you can select the right LED panel system:

Selecting LED Light Guide Plate: Go for panels that feature light guide plates and those with PMMA light guide plates after only half year of usage, such as the 600×600 led panel. Well, PS materials are popular in most countries across the globe, thanks to their affordability. However, it can easily turn yellow and get dark spots something that can decrease the panel’s power conversion efficiency. Moreover, PMMA material has an ant-aging and possesses superior light transmittance capacity as compared to PS materials.

Selecting LED Light Panel Driver – Large driver cripples are the major cause of LED light flickers. Typically, a superior PF value must come with a flicker, which cannot be detected by a naked human eye but. Since a low PF value driver utilizes lots of energy as well as power, a predetermined PF value is needed on LED drivers (typically 10+w panel lights). Due to the high cost, existing drivers with high PF value mostly have flicker.

Other Performance Factors

The following factors should also be considered before purchasing LED panels for your specific needed.

Aluminum Frame

Go for LED flat panel lights (like the 600×600 led panel) that utilize aluminum housing (environmentally friendly) featuring rapid heat dissipation, anodized, as well as anti-corrosion properties since they are long lasting and have superior performance. Some of the shortcomings of inferior aluminum panels are low heat dissipation capacity, general weakness, reduced chip life and rapid fading light.

LED Light Panel Driver Temperature

You should ensure that your manufacturer has conducted aging and electronic load tests on the LED panels. This is to ascertain whether the panels can bear extreme temperatures (101℃-138℃). Panels that pass this test tend to perform better, are safer, and stable, which makes them long-lasting. You can count on panels like 600×600 led ceiling panel when it comes to bearing extreme temperatures. 

Insurance and Warranty

Insurance is meant to protect LED panels against manufacturing defects and assure you of the product warranty. The manufacturer in question must offer you full support when it comes to warranty claims and subsequent repairs/ replacements.

LED Light Luminous Efficiency

Ensure that the luminous efficiency of your LED flat panel light is 120l+m/w. Also, check that it has no flicker and has a top power efficiency of 0.9+. Also ensure that:

• It has high CRI (Ra>80)
• The THD is less than 15%
• The DLC is under 4.0 standards.

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Article Source (Copyright © 2018 Saving Light Bulbs) — https://www.saving-light-bulbs.co.uk/blog/buying-exclusive-led-flat-panels-the-secrets/