Circular T5 lamps
Osram and Philips gave a "sneak-preview" of their circular T5 lamps at the Hannover Fair. ("Sneak preview" probably means that these lamps will not be on the market in the foreseeable future). They will become available in three lumen packages (outer diameter in parentheses): 1900 lm/24W (225mm), 3300 lm/39W (300mm), and 4500 lm/54W (300mm). These lamps will offer luminaire designers the possibility to make compact, circular, and square luminaires. The lamps may become an option for torchiere applications as well as for other round luminaires enclosed by an opaque cover. However, since the lamp fitting is placed on the tube along the circle it will be difficult to keep the fitting from having a shading effect.
The lamps are more efficient than GE's new 55W, 2D lamp, which has a nominal luminous flux of 3 900 lm (and 3 400 lm after 2 000 hours). But the 2D lamp has its fitting in the center of the lamp, and will, in practice, be the only alternative available for many applications. And it is available now. (Also see Table)
Nils Borg