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Electrodeless Induction Lamps
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Updated
21-VII-2005 |
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Ever since the great scientist Nikola Tesla stunned his audiences with fabulous demonstrations of induction lighting more than a century ago, lighting firms worldwide have tried to master the technology in an efficient and commercially viable format. There was some activity on the subject in the USA in the late 1970s, but intgrated electronic ballasts and the subject of radio frequency emissions prevented a commercial launch.
In the 1980s the subject of a low-wattage incandescent retrofit lamp was being extensively researched in the labs of Philips and Thorn Lighting, both of whom created advanced prototypes that came very close to a market launch. But the high price of the technology remained a barrier to production. Sylvania in USA meanwhile experimented with large high efficiency tubular sources that offered greater potential for energy savings.
It was not until the early 1990s that Panasonic, then Philips, GE-Thorn and Osram-Sylvania all placed practical lamps on the market. More recent years have seen impressive Chinese dabblings in the art, especially from the firms Tungda and Hongyuan, whose lamps are illustrated below. |
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Philips |
85W |
| QL Electrodeless Induction System |
| 1992 |
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GE-Thorn |
23W |
| Advanced prototype self-ballasted electrodeless |
| 1991 |
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GE Lighting |
23W |
| Genura Self-ballasted electrodeless reflector |
| 1994 |
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Osram |
100W |
| Endura Inductively Coupled Electrodeless |
| 2002 |
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National |
12W |
| Matsushita Electrodeless Pa-Look Ball YOU |
| 2003 |
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Tungda |
85W |
| TL85 - First Chinese electrodeless lamp |
| 2001 |
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Hongyuan |
60W |
| Saturn 2 Self-ballasted Chinese electrodeless |
| 2003 |
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TUE |
1000W |
| Electrodeless Sulphur Microwave lamp |
| 1999 |
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