Incandescent efficiency

D Yuniskis · 2010-01-21T01:50:48+00:00

Hi,Typical incandescent lamps (A base) tend to be only afew percent efficient in converting electricity to light.Operating an incandescent at reduced voltage extendsfilament life (all else being equal).I use these as heat sources (protect citrus trees fromthe cold). So, the *worse* the efficiency, the betterit is for me! :>Intuitively, it seems like reducing the operating voltageshould force even more long wave radiation. I.e.,*further* reducing the efficiency.So, operating the bulbs at reduced line voltage shouldbe a win-win for me?Or, is there a point at which the resistance of the bulbincreases and overall (power) output falls off?