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4 Responses to “Does A Light Bulb Size Make A Difference?”

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  Cale W says:

  November 9, 2009 at 9:25 pm

  The wattage is the only thing that matters in light output. Different designs will have different ways of distributing heat, but the overall size shouldn’t matter. The biggest factor in durability will be how it’s made. Brand names generally do better, but there are exceptions. Just use them both in similar lights for similar times and see which one lasts longer.
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  jan_ques says:

  November 10, 2009 at 2:25 am

  The design of the bulb is to offer the rigidity. There are several tests done on the package about how strong the bulb is. Also, the vacuum has to be maintained. Good quality bulbs are better with the outer glass.
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  Anonymous says:

  November 10, 2009 at 3:44 am

  The bulb lifetime is determined by the size of the filament. Thicker filaments last longer, but they do not put out as much light for the same wattage. (Fewer lumens listed on the packaging)
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  Anonymous says:

  November 10, 2009 at 4:10 am

  Assuming no manufacturing defects and reasonably similar materials and manufacturing processes, the biggest determiner of how long a light bulb lasts is the temperature at which its filament operates. The higher the temperature, the brighter the bulb glows and the more efficient it is at putting out light, but the faster it burns out.
  Both the design of the light and the operating voltage determine the light’s operating temperature. A long-life bulb can be designed and manufactured almost as inexpensively as the industry-standard incandescents, but they also put out less light per watt and the light they put out is less white. This efficiency is further reduced as the bulb ages because the filament material slowly deposits on the inside of the glass envelope and blackens it.
  To get the same amount of light with one of these long-life bulbs, you must therefore start with a higher-wattage bulb. This makes the bulb more expensive to operate. Unless replacing the bulb is a difficult or expensive process, these long-life bulbs are more expensive in the long run than their standard counterparts because the extra electricity they burn costs far more than the replacement cost of the standard bulbs.
  Back to the original question: the different sizes and shapes for the bulbs will probably have a negligible effect on the bulb life. The glass and, to an extent, the socket connections will probably run hotter in the smaller bulb because the same amount of heat must be dissipated over a smaller surface area.

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