Most Efficient reflector?

[UtahDPDude]

I am in the middle of making some small fixtures and I am using daylight 100 watt equivalent CFLs. So I am trying to get every ounce of light out of them. So I was wondering if there are any peoples who are more educated in the behavior of light than I am. What I have done is put a kind of parabolic reflector behind my CFL to catch the light being emitted by the back of the bulb. I have it on it's side so I have the most surface area towards the front of my fixture. But back to the question. What kind of reflector would do the best job. A deep angled reflector that comes to more of a point at the back or a more gradual curve that will just arch behind the CFL. Also it would be a question of bulb placement. What is the best place to utilize the reflector. Would hurt or help to have two bulbs in the same fixture. etc... So lots of questions. looking for lots of answers.

 

[Ulophot]

Shaped reflectors have focal lengths, just as lenses do. The curvature, relative to light source placement, can determine where the maximum "focus" of the light will be. This is what happens when you adjust the beam width with a parabolic reflector in a fresnel, by moving the lamp or reflector forward or back.

A long, diffuse tube alters the equation. You'd have to find someone who can do the math better than I, but I suspect you will not get results as effective as with a lamp which is closer to a point source. I would suggest playing with a piece of flexible mylar sheeting, to see how relative curvature affects the light projection.

 

[Gary]

The most efficient reflector is a good quality mirror. It will give you "every ounce of light out of them" but they're not practical. And so begins the tradeoff. I have found that mylar or even aluminum foil can be formed inside a reflector to get a result.