hey matt, thanks for stopping in, i got this the other day from another post here on R.I.U. not sure if its fact on not. but makes sense to be, LoL. + rep to ya. im sticking with all 23 or 27 watts to avoid heat problems also. its easier to spread them around for side lighting.
This may be some helpful info. CFL Efficency: CFL's higher than a 55W start to loose their Lumen per Watt RATIO SIGNIFICENTLY. Here's a modified chart from another thread. CFL Lumens/Watt Ratio
Lum/1Watt
150w - 52.667 - 7900 Lumen
105w - 65.714 - 6900 Lumen
85w - 58.823 - 5000 Lumen
65w - 52.308 - 3400 Lumen
55w - 65.454 - 3600 Lumen
42w - 66.667 - 2800 Lumen
40w - 66.25 - 2650 Lumen
32w - 65.625 - 2100 Lumen
30w - 66.667 - 2000 Lumen
27w - 64.815 - 1750 Lumen
23w - 69.565 - 1600 Lumen **** These are VERY Efficent****
Say you had 5 of these 30 watt bulbs:
That would still be 150 watts, but these put out 2000 lumens each, so that would be 10,000 lumens for 150w instead of 7900 for a single 150w.
Also the advantage of better coverage and direct penetration from the bulb. Rather than a reflector. With every extra inch of light travel from a cfl, the more dramatically the penetration effectiveness is decreased. The short of it, smaller more efficent bulbs, and more of them does give you an advantage.