The safe (and reliable) CFL
Posted: August 22nd, 2014, 8:06 pmOkay, I've thought about it a bit. To be safe, it would have to have a proper mains fuse (not one of those "fusible" resistors), and a thermal cutoff so that if it is overheated, it at least fails safely rather than exploding. To be reliable, the electrolytic capacitor has to be from a good manufacturer and rated for the job.
The closest CFL I've seen to properly made is a 10W Mirabella; it has a small glass input fuse and a 4.7µF 400V AiSHi CD11GH series capacitor (not a high-quality brand, but it has suitable specifications and is larger than usual for the lamp power). Still no thermal cutoff, and no inrush limiting for that matter. It does have a ferrite coil in one side of the mains, and there is provision for a small (7.5mm lead pitch, presumably ≈33nF) X2 capacitor that was never installed.
Of course, they would also have to be manufactured responsibly, and it's probably not that long before they lose to LEDs.
The closest CFL I've seen to properly made is a 10W Mirabella; it has a small glass input fuse and a 4.7µF 400V AiSHi CD11GH series capacitor (not a high-quality brand, but it has suitable specifications and is larger than usual for the lamp power). Still no thermal cutoff, and no inrush limiting for that matter. It does have a ferrite coil in one side of the mains, and there is provision for a small (7.5mm lead pitch, presumably ≈33nF) X2 capacitor that was never installed.
Of course, they would also have to be manufactured responsibly, and it's probably not that long before they lose to LEDs.