Inexpensive halogen torchere lamps, whose 300-watt bulbs can reach a temperature of 970 degrees, have become extremely popular, especially on college campuses.
But because of their high heat, narrow bases and catch-basin tops, such lamps have been implicated in at least 100 fires and 10 deaths.
Because of these hazards, the lamps increasingly are being banned by colleges.
Not to worry. The U.S. Energy Department recently announced that a safer fluorescent version of the halogen torchere should reach stores by late summer, and may be offered to students when they arrive on campus.
Safety is one consideration; another is trimming the high cost of burning the typical 300-watt halogen bulb. This cost has become the bane of university officials, who say that halogen lamps are adding thousands of dollars a year to campus electric bills.
The new compact fluorescent torchere, based on technology developed by the Energy Department’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in Berkeley, Calif., was designed artfully to look like the halogen lamp. Emess lighting of Ellwood City, Pa., is manufacturing it and calling it Coolbrite. Other manufacturers have been developing similar compact fluorescents.
The Coolbrite torchere uses a new generation of compact fluorescent bulb that needs only 67 watts to provide as much light as a 300-watt halogen bulb, said Michael J. Siminovitch, the staff scientist who led the research team in Berkeley. And the new bulb burns at only 100 degrees.Industry observers say that a drawback to wide acceptance of the new fluorescents may be the initial price. Many halogen torchere lamps can now be bought for around $20. The fluorescent torchere will cost $70 to $150, but that price may come down as other manufacturers enter the fluorescent race. Although the new bulbs can last for seven years (compared with one year for halogen), the initial outlay may be a stumbling block. Fluorescent bulbs are $9, with each lamp taking two bulbs; halogen bulbs are about $10.
