lighting weak fuorescent lights

[dlevanchuk]

Slowly figuring out wattage and temperature for tungsten light bulbs, so I'm starting to eyeball more of daylight type of lighting (5600k).

When online to look at various fluorescent light builbs, and noticed that majority of light heads can mount up to 6 fluorescent builbs, but each bulb is about 28 watt..

So why is there such wattage difference between tungsten lights, which you can easily get up to 500watt with a single light bulb, and fluorescent ligh head, which will only produce around 100watts? Different light emitting materials?

 

[PaulGriffith]

Yeah different technology.

Tungsten is passing electricity through a thin tungsten wire which resists, and therefore glows.

Florescent is sending electric current through an excitable gas (like halogen and mercury vapor) and the gas glows.

It takes less electricity to make a similar amount of light with florescent bulbs, but they never seem to match their advertising (like 28w F = 100w T or whatever) and the cheap heads with 5 bulb fixtures NEVER recreate what they say. The eBay lights claim it as a 1K fixture but the ones I've used feel more like a 250 watt.

High end florescent Fixtures are nice, but there's something magic about that tungsten glow... I and most (not all) of the guys I work with really prefer it when possible.

 

[PaulGriffith]

Oh, and light is really measured in lumens, that's why all the CFL state their comparitive tungsten outputs. Again, I really think it's false advertising.

 

[dlevanchuk]

Sweet, thanks! That explains a lot.

I can't think in lumens yet. I could picture 40watt, and from eyeballing could approximate needed requirement. But in lumens - forget it haha

 

[Gonzo_Entertainment]

LEDs are the same way. The don't live up their billing of how bright they are supposed to be. Everybody wants to get away from "hot" lights, and there would be advantages, but they still work and look the best.