If you compare a traditional 60W incandescent globe with the same filament specification as one with with a parabolic reflector built into the globe, does the (usually) aluminium reflector actually increase the lux/lumens (without drawing extra wattage, and thus an energy efficiency increase from the user's power usage point of view), or does it just help spread the light to a larger angle?
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1\$\begingroup\$ If there can be such a thing defined for the reflector bulb, is there a viewing angle to speak of? I say that because if it's really parabolic in nature then it should focus the light directly in front of the bulb rather than spread it out at all - exactly as some headlights do. \$\endgroup\$– sherrellbcCommented Jul 17, 2014 at 23:51
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2 Answers
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A "traditional" (plain) light bulb will emit light in all directions. A reflector bulb (or a normal bulb in a reflector fixture) will direct the light in a certain direction, increasing the light intensity in that direction, while preventing light from being emitted behind the reflector.
The reflector reduces the angle (or area) illuminated by the lamp.
If a bulb is specified as 60 Watt, it will draw 60 Watts with or without a reflector.
answered Jul 18, 2014 at 2:02
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I doubt it's parabolic. A parabolic mirror would focus all of the light from a point source into a straight line. A bulb's point is usually to create nice even lighting. The reflector would increase the efficiency by reflecting more light out of the bulb, but it's generally not there to focus the light. The overall output would be more, and the overall brightness would be more but the beam angle would still be relatively wide.
