Evolution of tubelight hardware - Indian context

At the time of writing this post, I am 33 years old. So, whatever I write is a result of documenting my observation in life of little over thirty years. I did not research how things were before I was born, and I doubt if there's a source that can provide me a good historical perspective. If you know it, please provide a link in the comments section. 

An early design of a tubelight hardware

The idea of writing this post occured to me the last time I went to market to purchase a tubelight. I was surprised to find it compact and yet so bright on the display. The post here documents the evolution of tubelight and associated hardware, as observed during different life phases. I am not aware of the terminology and name of the several parts as I begin to write this, so I would take the liberty to make them up as I appropriately see. 

At the time I was born and few more years (1986 - 1995).

The photograph you see here is of a tubelight, as I had seen as a child. Until this point, all parts were coupled using screws or other fasteners. For example, the wings were attached using pins to the main frame, tube holders were attached to wings using screws, the choke was attached to frame using screws, the electrical wires in the tube mounts were attached using using screw and nut. 

Earliest design with all parts attached. This one still works.

Common method of attaching things was mechanical, so either screws, pins or screws and nuts were used. The number of distinct components (without the mention of fasteners) that makeup the entire setup are mentioned below.

a) Choke - The most bulky part, and also the heaviest

b) Frame, with folding wings

c) Tube mounts

d) Starter

e) Tube

Below you can see the disassembled tube mount, and the different parts (screws, spring, spring contacts etc.) present in the tube mount or the fasteners used to attach it to the frame. 

Tube mount - Opened up

Some of the disadvantage that this design had is that, the frame did not sit flush with the wall. Wall and frame provided a cavity for lizards to live in and hence served as a breeding ground. The choke on this design was as roust as it can get, however it was sometimes prone to creating noise - perhaps a result of age. The design was overall most robust, I never saw the tube mounts fail and even all other parts had significant life. Due to unconcealed choke, one of the other drawback of this design was that the wall somewhat blackened due to heat from continuous use. 

Child growing up to be a adolescent (1995 - 2012)

This particular tube design came along and continued simultaneously along with the previous design. This particular design was considered an aesthetically more appealing option. It was marginally expensive than the above design. In this case, the design did not change drastically since it employed the same starter and choke technology. However, it did modernize somewhat and number of components increased due to side covers and change in tube mounts technology. 

It had the same starter and choke technology, but was concealed. You can see the screw present in the middle of the frame

For fastening, the screws are eliminated and tube mounts are designed to have plastic protrusion clips that can be removed and attached swiftly. The tube mount itself eliminates screws for attaching wires and can accept wires that can be simply inserted and get clipped automatically.

a) Choke

b) Frame

c) Tube mounts

d) Starter

e) Tube

f) Side covers

The frame sits flush with wall and there's no space for lizards. This design however was more bulky and in kitchen it attracted lot of grease and oil due to larger exposed top surface and in a year or so, it would become extremely dirty. 

Another design available during the time

One of the problem that this particular design solved however is that it provided a screw for pinching the choke, so in case it started to produce noise due to age, this can be tightened and it helped eliminated noise. Due to concealed choke, the wall never blackened even due to continuous use. 

Growing up to be an adult (2012 - 2019)

In my opinion, this was the most drastic design change since the first one. It was compact and evolved in many other ways. However, in my opinion it did not evolve for the better. It can be called as, at this point the tube started to become electronic and was called an electronic choke and had numerous electronic components. 

Choke, tube mounts, frame of a third generation tubelight hardware

The choke did not produce as much heat, and was concealed just like in case of previous generation. There were several deficiencies in the design however, and no matter the manufacturer, the choke as well as tube failed frequently and failure was more sudden and abrupt than what was seen in case of old designs.

a) Choke

b) Frame

c) Tube mounts

d) Tube

e) Side covers

Another drawback of the design was the tube mount of abysmal quality that was designed for failure and was the weakest link, second one being the choke. You would require them even more frequently than the tube or choke and with every rotation of the tube it was feared that it will broke. The electrician suggested that this was a Chinese product. I could see that it was manufactured in India, however, it is possible that the design was inspired from Chinese products. I am glad that this design is out on its way and is getting replaced by an extremely robust design.

Adulthood and beyond (2019 - continues)

This is the future and perhaps the best design in ages in many ways. The tube I bought came with a warranty of two years. Everything in this case is integrated, and is a true electronic product in a sense that even the tube is essentially a series of white LEDs. The integrated used mounts as a whole and is meant to be thrown since there's no provision of opening it up. The unit as a whole is only 1/4th the volume of the first generation product and is a really unobtrusive design.

Present day tubelight, where everything is integrated and nothing is meant for repair or replacement

The product is extremely light and installs using two clamp provided with the tube. While nothing is meant for repair or replacement in this tube, the quantity of material and parts it uses is significantly less. So even if it serves upto 2 years' period, it can be considered an improvement, as long as its parts are recycled in some way and don't end up in the landfill.