Tesla DZ*9W Compact Fluorescent

Following the launch of Philips' PL* compact fluorescents in 1981, it immediately became clear that this would set an important new global light source standard. By late 1983 Osram had caught up with its Dulux S equivalent, and GTE Sylvania was third to market in 1984.

In the Americas there was less incentive for innovation in compact fluorescents due to much lower energy costs, although Philips and Osram established satellite production in their U.S.A. factories, and the GE Biaxial lamps were also produced in America.

Meanwhile in Eastern Europe, several local manufacturers were quick to establish their own production. This remained on a small scale due to limited financial possibilities during the challenging political times for those countries. Only Tungsram achieved widespread success, following its takeover by GE of America and huge investments in the Hungarian manufacturing. Narva and Tesla also developed and produced these lamps for their local markets.

Tesla commenced production in the former Czechoslovakia during the late 1980s, and this is one of the company's earliest examples. It is an almost exact copy of the Philips design and was produced at the Holešovice factory in Prague - possibly even using a former Philips PL* production line. As such it was one of few manufacturers to adopt the Philips pi-shape rather than the simpler Osram U-tube. Following the privatisation of Tesla in 1991 it enountered financial difficulties, and although it survived for several years as Teslamp, the Czech production of CFLs ended with the closure of the Holešovice factory in August 2003.
Manufacturer: Tesla Holešovice
Lamp Power: 9 Watts
Lamp Current: 0.170 Amps
Lamp Voltage: 60 Volts
Cap Type: G23 Al + PBT
Bulb Type: T-12.5 T-4 in eighths/inch
Bulb Finish: Y2O3:Eu3+, CeMgAl11O19:Tb3+ Soda-lime glass
Electrodes: Triple Coil Tungsten Triple carbonate emitter
Atmosphere: Argon + Hg
Luminous Flux: 600 lm @ 100h
Luminous Efficacy: 66.7 lm/W @ 100h
Colour Temperature & CRI: CCT: 2700K CRI: Ra 81
Chromaticity Co-ordinates: CCx: 0.460 CCy: 0.414
Lifetime: 5000 hours
Warm-up & Re-strike Time: 2 minutes Instant
Burning Position: Universal
Overall Length: 168 mm 65/8 inches
Lighted Area: 106 x 27 x 13 mm 43/16 x 11/16 x 1/2 inches
Mass: 45 grams
Factory: Holešovice, Prague Former Czechoslovakia
Date of Manufacture: 1989 Date Code: 19
Original Value:
References: 1) Tesla Holešovice Catalogue, 1995 EN