Re: [IRCA] Compact Fluorescents

["Dan Strassberg" <dan.strassberg@xxxxxxx>]

Patrick Martin wrote that he did not see why a CFL could not be built in the
same envelope as an incandescent.

I think it's a matter of economics. There are thermal issues as well. Over
the years since the introduction of the CFL, the diameter of the electronics
module at the base has shrunk slightly. There's a lot of little stuff
inside. As semiconductors go, power devices tend to be large, The area is
necessary to keep current densities within reason. In the absence of process
innovations, the more current you force through a chip of a given area, the
hotter the chip gets. In addition, with less area to remove the heat, the
hotter the chip gets. The hotter a chip runs, the sooner if will fail.
Making CFLs that screw into the same sockets as incandescents is--by a
longshot--not the whole story about making a more efficient
incandescent-lamp replacement. If there were a way to make units that were
true physical replacements for incandescents, I'm sure it would have
happened by now. I imagine that the lamp manufacturers, GE, Sylvania,
Philips, Siemens?, and Asian companies whose names I don't know are working
on the problem, but I have not yet seen evidence that they have solved the
problem. Maybe they have. If so, such bulbs will command a premium price for
a long time. The manufacturers are not about to phase out their existing
designs until they have paid for all of the design work and tooling that
went into the existing generation. Remember, these guys are in an industry
that has seen no fundamental advances in at least 75 years. Incremental
advances, yes--fundamental advances, no. I'm sure it will take a while
before the business models of industries that experience continuous rapid
technological change permeate such a staid, old-line business.

--
Dan Strassberg, dan.strassberg@xxxxxxx
eFax 707-215-6367



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