David Nebenzahl wrote:
On 11/14/2009 6:34 PM Gordon Shumway spake thus:

SWMBO just bought a new table lamp for the desk in our computer room.
This lamp will be replacing one that uses two (2) 75 watt Incandescent
bulbs. This new lamp uses only one (1) bulb. The label says "60 watt
Incandescent or 15 watt CFL maximum." This will probably not be
enough light for my old eyes.

I was under the impression that maximum wattage for a given fixture
was because of the fixtures ability to withstand the heat produced by
the bulb. If that's true wouldn't one be able to use a higher output
CFL relative to the incandescent because of the lower heat the CFL
bulbs produce?

I would like to use the equivalent to a 100 watt incandescent, a 23
watt CFL. Good or bad idea?

Bad idea. It's a myth that CFLs don't produce lots of heat. They do.

I now turn the discussion over to Don Klipstein ...


But "lots of heat" relative to what? I have honestly never heard this
myth. CFLs produce heat buy way less than a comparable output
incandescent lamp.