Hi Folks-
Here's some pertinent information about this type of bulb from someone who knows the whole fluorescent lighting thing better than I do. I'm not suggesting they are good or bad for your application, but I thought the information in this post was very interesting.
I do know from discussions I have watched and read that this type of light does not produce enough useful UVB for large lizards like iguanas. As Merlin suggested, smaller lizards in smaller cages may very well benefit from this type of lamp.
This is a post taken in it's entirety from the UVB Meter_Owners Group, that bastion of UVB-obsessed users. LOL
SOURCE:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/UVB_Meter_Owners/
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Although I haven't tested these spiral lights I would like to make a few
comments.
When they state that 20W=75W or any comparison like that, what they are talking about is light energy. Most incandescent bulbs are only about 2% efficient (meaning 2% of the energy is light and 98% is wasted in the form of heat), and florescents produce about 4x the amount of light for the same amount of energy used. That is how and why they can say that. It is actually completely irrelevant in any reptile husbandry (since we need the right light and also need heat) and is only good for saving you $ in energy consumption around the house (outside of the cage). So all this "puts out the equivalent of ....." is just a catchy advertising phrase.
The other coil types have performed poorly, and I suspect that it will be
difficult to change that. Light travels in a straight line from the source. So
a coil would have to be placed in such a way that all the light that is shining
out of one side of all those coils is facing (or reflected) down towards your
reptile. Even then, the coils on the other side of the bulb are still using
energy but no UVB is getting to your reptile from that part of the coils (due to
being hidden behind coils). A tube has the entire length along one side of the
bulb producing UVB that can face all in one direction and the fixtures are white so they reflect light from the other side of the tube back down into your cage (to some extent). I am certain that these coils would read better from the sides than the bottom. So even if you were to overlook the flaw in having them in a coil, most set-ups and lamp fixtures would render these bulbs virtually useless anyway.
If these same coils were shaped like an element on a stove or the Mega Heat
elements, they would produce approximately double the UVB for your reptiles
(same length, just different shape). Until then, I wouldn't waste my $ to even
test them.
Just my thoughts
Chris
Yeah, given that I've found a lot of info that says the bulbs are ****, and no info to suport the bulbs (except advertisement from the makers), I don't see any reason to use them. I already passed the info along to my friend. She works at a pet store and someone got an anole and they were wondering about lights I guess. I also mentioned that if anyone's buying a herp they should check out the HC, so she's gonna recommend this site to people she sells to 
