RLOD#29 (2020.06.07) Early-1990s Philips HPV#02

In the early 1980s Philips began developing integral-ballasted induction fluorescent lamps as a more compact and efficient alternative to the SL* which was introduced in 1976. The aim was to produce a compact fluorescent lamp with a form factor similar to that of GLS lamps in order to facilitate their adoption in residential lighting applications. From this work resulted first the XL in the mid-1980s, followed by the much smaller HPV in the early 1990s. In order to assess their effectiveness as a proper substitute to incandescent lamps, Philips conducted a field trial with employees who were given an HPV lamp to be used at home. Some of those lamps were in fact standard 60 W Softone bulbs mounted on an HPV ballast casing (shown here) so as to establish a baseline. The results of this study are now lost in the company's archives, but in any case Philips decided not to continue with the development of these lamps.