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Andrew Gabriel

In article ,
writes:
Stephen wrote:

Hello,

I was thinking of fitting an emergency light near the CU. It's under
the stairs, so there's no daylight to see by when an RCD or MCB trips.
I see they use an 8w bulb. How bright are these? I know a 7w cfl is
supposed to be equivalent to a 40w filament bulb. Are these lights as
bright as a 40w bulb?

no, 25w is closer

Nowhere near even that.
An 8W fluorescent emergency light runs at a ballast factor
of about 0.25, which means it's running the tube at 2W.
If you look at the battery capacity in Whrs, you'll quickly
see they can't supply 8W for anything like 3 hours.

I'm wondering whether it could be used as the
only light in the room

if you want an eerily dim room

It's fine for emergency use, i.e. finding the exit, which is
what it's designed for. It will be fine for lighting up the
consumer unit providing it's not too far away and in direct
line of sight.

--
Andrew Gabriel
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