"Richard Blackwood" wrote in message
...
Once again the hot weather has reminded me of just how much I dislike it!
Last night I noticed the amount of heat given of by my ordinary bedside
lamp - IIRC something like 80% of the energy in light bulbs is heat not
light. It made me wonder whether different bulbs would produce less heat?

Argos do a pack of 3 15 Watt BC Energy Saving Fluorescent Bulbs for £6.99

http://www.argos.co.uk/webapp/wcs/st...y?storeId=1000
1&langId=-1&catalogId=2501&productId=104088

These seem to have an ordinary 'bayonet' type fixing. Would these emit
less
heat as well as being more efficient?

Being "more efficient" and "emitting less heat" are two sides of the same
coin. It is precisely because incandescent bulbs convert so much of the
electrical energy into heat, that they are inefficient as light sources. So,
the answer to that last question is most definitely "yes".

Older types of energy saving bulb had rather primitive ballasts in the base,
so used to get quite warm themselves and weren't as efficient as the makers
would have you believe, but the newer ones with electronic ballasts run much
cooler.

Rick