Is it safe to use Compact Fluorescent lightbulbs in enclosed light fixtures?
A compact fluorescent converts about 7% of the electricity it consumes to light, the other 93% is lost as heat. For an incandescent bulb, the numbers are about 2% light and 98% percent. Thinking of it the other way around, for the same amount of light, the compact fluorescent uses about 1/3 or less the electricity. So it generates about 1/3 or less the heat, and there would seem to be much less risk of overheating the enclosure. Nevertheless, GE’s consumer FAQ recommends against using them in completely enclosed, recessed fixtures. They say that they “create temperatures that are too high to allow the use of a compact fluorescent bulb”; I saw no more details on the exact reason. The
