Meeting CFLs in Budapest´s
New York café
Meeting CFLs in Budapest´s
New York café
 (c) Evan Mills |
Energy efficiency enthusiasts often look
to North America or Western Europe to find the booming markets for
energy efficient products. But a visitor to Budapest will quickly
see that the Hungarian capital has embraced the concept of compact
fluorescent lamps (CFLs). In Budapest’s shops and restaurants,
CFLs are becoming almost as common as sausages. This is shown vividly
by a glance at the ornate ceilings of the historic New York Cafe in
downtown Budapest. A quick onsite audit revealed a total of no less
than 470 compact fluorescent lamps. It's also notable that this installation
represents a very aesthetic and visually friendly application of the
technology, a quality often lacking in even the most modern ”Western”
settings. The lamps are located in elaborate luminaires well-matched
to the overall architectural style of the Cafe, and glare is no different
than with standard incandescents. One driver for this application
was no doubt the enormous maintenance benefits. With the Cafe's high
ceilings, multi-level floors, and the complexity of the luminaires,
lamp changes have no doubt been a costly and inconvenient part of
life for the facility managers. Evan Mills |