eLightBulbs Lighting Blog > Compact Fluorescents for Barns, Stadiums, and More!

The most common compact fluorescent light bulbs are those in the 13 to 27 watt range, used in homes all over the world.  CFL wattages don't stop there, though; wattages as high as 150 watts and probably higher exist, and as a CFL's wattage increases, so too increases the physical area needed for glass tubes.  Still, it's impressive how a single 150 watt compact fluorescent light bulb has the light output of so many incandescent light bulbs at so little an energy cost.

Huge compact fluorescent light bulbs (nice oxymoron there) are excellent for mass lighting applications such as barn lighting and stadium lighting.  150 watts of compact fluorescent is enough to provide massive amounts of light for the energy cost of a single 150 watt incandescent, which was commonly used for a single small room needing bright light.  One 150 watt CFL could light up an entire large barn!

Barn lighting and stadium lighting benefit a lot from high wattage compact fluorescents.  A 150 watt compact fluorescent light bulb can replace metal halide and mercury vapor HID (high intensity discharge) bulbs of wattages in upwards of 500 watts.  The energy savings is immense!  These massive CFLs are mostly for commercial usage, as they have the large E39 mogul base, but if you need ridiculous amounts of light in your home you can find base adapters so you can screw these light bulbs into any normal home socket.

 

School gyms would be another great place for these light bulbs.  A lot of the time schools have low budgets and are unable to adequately cool their gymnasiums, and 400-500 watt light bulbs don't help.  Lowering the wattage by around 75% also greatly lowers the heat output and lowers the amount of cooling needed!