On this page you will find additional information on our ValueProducts24 daylight bulbs.

1 Information on energy saving bulbs

1.1 Basic facts about energy saving bulbs
1.2 How energy saving bulbs work
1.3 Saving costs with energy saving bulbs

2 FAQ - Frequently asked questions about ValueProducts24 daylight bulbs

2.1 What is the difference between the various daylight bulbs you offer?
2.2 What are the uses of your daylight bulbs?
2.3 Which daylight bulbs or studio lamps are suitable for which light tent?
2.4 What is the difference between 5000 kelvin and 6500 kelvin?
2.5 Are your daylight bulbs covering the light's full spectrum?
2.6 What does lumen mean?
2.7 What does CRI or RA mean?
2.8 What socket do I need?
2.9 Which daylight bulb shall I use with 60 watt maximum sockets?
2.10 What does "effective" in the description of your daylight bulbs mean?
2.11 Are your daylight bulbs appropriate for non-stop operation?
2.12 Are your daylight bulbs flicker-free?
2.13 Are your daylight bulbs dimmable?
2.14 Do your daylight bulbs produce cold light?
2.15 Do I need an electrical ballast for your daylight bulbs?
2.16 Is an electrical ballast integrated in your daylight bulbs?
2.17 Why are daylight bulbs so expensive?
2.18 Are your daylight bulbs eco-friendly?

1 Information on energy saving light bulbs

1.1 Basic facts about energy saving light bulbs

Energy saving bulbs are compact fluorescent lamps with an integrated electrical ballast. Their main advantage is their high percentage of light exploitation: They transform about 25% of the electrical power into light. Compared to usual incandescent lamps which merely give 5% of light and create 95% of heat loss, energy saving bulbs are considerably more economical (up to 78% of energy saving).

An energy saving bulb has a much longer lifespan compared to an incandescent lamp (depending on the model) and a considerably higher light exploitation.

With our ValueProducts24 daylight bulbs 30 watt (energy saving bulbs) you can exploit as much light as with usual 135 watt incandescent light bulb. The light efficacy which is measured in lumen is the basis for comparison. The indicated value complies with the EU norm, which - compared to the usual incandescent light bulbs - is even higher!

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1.2 How energy saving bulbs work

In fluorescent lamps electrons flow through a gas vapour (containing mercury). By hitting the mercury atoms energy is set free which emits ultraviolet light. The ultraviolet light then excites a phosphor coating on the inside of the tube. This coating emits visible light.

Energy saving bulbs need an electrical ballast. They have a starter for the ignition and a choke for limiting the current flow. Electrical ballasts are highly efficient. They produce a flicker-free immediate start. The switching frequency does not influence the bulb's lifespan.

The purchase cost for compact fluorescent light bulbs is considerably higher than for usual incandescent lamps, due to their elaborate technology. A total cost comparison, however, shows that energy saving is not only eco-friendly, but also proves to be economical for the user.

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1.3 Saving costs with energy saving light bulbs

Almost 10% of the total power is consumed by lighting of all kinds. The average power consumption per single-person household is about 1800 kWh per year.

If you count 180 kWh for lighting and 78% of energy saving by using compact fluorescent bulb, you can save 140 kWh!

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2 FAQ - Frequently asked questions about ValueProducts24 daylight bulbs

2.1 What is the difference between the various daylight bulbs you offer?

At the moment we offer 3 types of ValueProducts24 daylight bulbs:

- Daylight bulb E14 5000K 8W
- Daylight bulb E27 5000K 30W
- Daylight bulb HIGH POWER E27 5000K 60W

In addition we offer a daylight bulb kit with an lamp holder 4-in-1:

- Daylight bulb kit ULTRA POWER E27 5000K 120W

The daylight bulbs can be generally used for all kinds of situations thanks to their customary fixtures (E14 & E27). They are adapted to the midday sun colour temperature (5000 kelvin).

The differences lie in maximal power consumption, light efficacy, socket, size, weight and design. For further information on the differences please read our article descriptions.

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2.2 What are the uses of your daylight bulbs?

The ValueProducts24 daylight bulbs were originally produced for photography (in particular for product photography in combination with our ValueProducts24 light tents, see our online shop: www.valueproducts24.com).

But thanks to their colour temperature similar to daylight (5000 kelvin) and to their eye protecting and non-tiring light, our daylight bulbs are also appropriate for other purposes.

In general you can use them in all kinds of rooms, especially in those ones with little daylight. They are used in medical offices, workshops, offices, kindergartens and business rooms - to name but a few.

You can use our daylight bulbs especially at work places (computer, drawing, reproduction etc.) and terrariums.

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2.3 Which daylight bulbs or studio lamps are suitable for which light tent?

You can find information on how to combine our daylight bulbs or studio lights with our light tents in our buyers guide (see our online shop: www.valueproducts24.com).

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2.4 What is the difference between 5000 kelvin and 6500 kelvin?

The colour temperature is a simplified representation of the spectral characteristics of a light source. Actually colour temperature is measured by the relative amount of different wavelengths. Nonetheless it is possible to classify the colour of those light sources that have the same intensity on a linear scale.

Lower colour temperature implicates a psychologically warmer light colour (yellow/red), a higher colour temperature implicates, respectively, a psychologically colder colour (blue). Daylight at dusk and dawn has a lower colour temperature and a higher one at midday.

Colour temperature is measured in kelvin (K). Seen from a technical point of view, the colour temperature refers to the temperature to which you would have to heat up a theoretically black object so that this object emits light of the same colour.

Some typical values of colour temperatures:

1500 K	--->	Candle light
2680 K	--->	40 watt incandescent bulb
3200 K	--->	Dusk/dawn
3400 K	--->	Halogen Bulb
4500-5000 K	--->	Xenon bulb/electric arc
5000-5500 K	--->	Daylight at midday
5000-5500 K	--->	Electronic photo flash
6500-7500 K	--->	Overcast sky
9000-12000 K	--->	"Blue hour"

Since all studio flash devices work with 5000-5500 kelvin, this colour temperature has become the quasi standard for daylight in photography (for example it is also the right colour temperature for analogous daylight films).

For this reason our ValueProducts24 daylight bulbs have been adjusted to 5000 kelvin. An energy saving bulb with 6500 kelvin already tends - in our opinion - too much towards the blue spectrum, which might cause distorted photos.

If you need to light a room, you achieve an almost white light with 5000 kelvin - which has all the above described advantages.

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2.5 Are your daylight bulbs covering the light's full spectrum?

You can often find the term "full spectrum" within the product description of other bulb manufacturers. In our opinion, this is only a marketing term to achieve higher prices.

There are different views on this topic, but many of the items advertised as "full spectrum" bulbs will most likely not meet the requirements. According to our knowledge a full spectrum bulb with 30 watt, for example, would must have an increased effective power by 60% (!). Thus any energy savings would be invalid.

Therefore our ValueProducts24 dayligth bulbs are not covering the light's full spectrum.

For further information on this topic we would like to refer to the PDF "Vollspektrumlicht - Eine kritische Würdigung der Literatur" of Ahmet E. Cakir and Gisela Cakir (German language).

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2.6 What does lumen mean?

Lumen is the photometric SI unit for luminous flux. The luminous flux is a measure of the total visible light emitted from a light source (also called power of light).

Einige typische Werte der Lichtleistung:

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2.7 What does CRI or Ra mean?

CRI = Colour Rendering Index. CRI is a photometric index, with which you can describe the quality of colour reproduction of light sources with the same correlated colour temperature. The abbreviation for the colour rendering index is Ra.

The colour rendering index does not depend on certain colour temperatures. An incandescent light bulb with a colourless glass tube with theoretical 100 Ra has excellent colour reproduction qualities, whereas a cheaper fluorescent bulb has a value of 70 Ra.

It depends on the quality of the glass body of an energy saving bulb to achieve relatively high Ra values, the highest possible value being 95 Ra. Very good, feasible values are between 90 and 85 Ra.

The value of the colour reproduction index is important for photography or assessing print and repro works.

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2.8 What socket do I need?

The ValueProducts24 daylight bulbs are available with the customary sockets: the E14 socket (14 mm) and the E27 socket (27 mm Edison screw).

You can find the suitable sockets in most of the common kitchen, wall, floor and desktop lamps.

For product photography in combination with our ValueProducts24 light tents, we suggest you use our ValueProducts24 studio lights (see our online shop: www.valueproducts24.com).

The maximum wattage of the socket is decisive for the energy saving bulb. This means that for sockets with maximum 60 watt you can use a maximum 60 watt energy saving bulb!

The comparably stronger light power of the energy saving bulb (60 watt ---> 270 watt) is of no importance in this case, as the maximum current consumption is decisive.

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2.9 Which daylight bulb shall I use with 60 watt maximum sockets?

The socket's maximum wattage is an indicator for the wattage of energy saving bulbs. This means that sockets with maximum 60 watt can be used with a maximum 60 watt energy saving bulb!

The comparably stronger light power of the energy saving bulb (60 watt ---> 270 watt) is of no importance in this case, as the maximum current consumption is decisive.

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2.10 What does "effective" in the description of your daylight bulbs mean?

It is common to indicate the maximum efficacy of an energy saving bulb with a so-called nominal power. About 85% of this value corresponds to the actual efficacy (effective power).

Even if this makes comparing us with other manufacturers difficult, we have opted for indicating the effective power of our ValueProducts24 daylight bulbs, in order to give our customers the highest transparency possible.

The maximum power of our ValueProducts24 daylight bulbs HIGH POWER 60 watt can thus be compared with energy saving bulbs of up to 75 watt of other manufacturers.

Anyway it is not enough to consider the wattage when comparing energy saving bulbs. You should also consider the light's power measured in lumen in relation to the wattage.

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2.11 Are your daylight bulbs appropriate for non-stop operation?

Our ValueProducts24 daylight bulbs can be used without problems for non- stop operation.

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2.12 Are your daylight bulbs flicker-free?

Compared to usual fluorescent bulbs the ValueProducts24 daylight bulbs are flicker-free - thanks to their composition. They produce an eye-protecting and non-tiring light which is appropriate especially for all kinds of work places.

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2.13 Are your daylight bulbs dimmable?

Our ValueProducts24 daylight bulbs are not dimmable.

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2.14 Do your daylight bulbs produce cold light?

In general energy saving bulbs are said to produce cold light because they emit considerably less heat than usual incandescent bulbs though having the same light efficacy. The reason is that they use less energy. But this does not affect the colour temperature.

The ValueProducts24 daylight bulb 30 watt does only heat up a little bit and can thus be touched even after having operated for a longer time.

So thanks to the bulb's low heat output you have many advantages if you use an energy saving bulb.

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2.15 Do I need an electrical ballast for your daylight bulbs?

You do not need an external ballast for our ValueProducts24 daylight bulbs.

It is already integrated in our daylight bulbs, so it is no problem to use usual E27 sockets.

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2.16 Is an electrical ballast integrated in your daylight bulbs?

Yes, our ValueProducts24 daylight bulbs have an integrated modern electrical ballast.

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2.17 Why are daylight bulbs so expensive?

The fabrication of energy saving bulbs is very sophisticated in comparison to usual incandescent lights and they need considerably more components.

Especially our ValueProducts24 daylight bulbs HIGH POWER 60 watt need highly sophisticated components to achieve their efficacy. In addition the use of eco-friendly components also increases the costs of fabrication.

But the price of energy saving bulbs becomes relative because of its longer lifespan and its many other advantages.

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2.18 Are your daylight bulbs eco-friendly?

We have decided (and also with respect to our customers) to make our contribution to the protection of the environment. That is why we produce our daylight bulbs as eco-friendly as possible.

We do not use any lead-containing components in our ValueProducts24 daylight bulbs, even if this causes higher costs.

Daylight bulbs contain mercury in small amounts. According to the RoHS directive 5 mg is the maximum allowed per bulb in the EU. This amount is so small, that a burst glass tube does not cause any direct health hazard.

We were able to reduce this amount in our daylight bulbs to 0,25 mg mercury per bulb!

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