Energy Conversion Efficiency of EL Wire

[Bararontok]

As lighting decorations, EL wires that use an alternating current to make a phosphorous material radiate light are said to be very efficient and generate little heat. But what exactly is the energy conversion efficiency of such a device expressed as the ratio of output radiative power divided by input electrical power in percentage so that its performance can be compared with other lighting systems?

[mdjensen22]

I've done some work with EL, but have never needed to do exactly what you're looking for.

Both the power draw and output intensity of a fixed amount of EL wire will depend on the drive frequency and voltage. Typically EL wire can be modeled as a capacitor with xxx capacitance per foot. You should be able to come up with an equation to model this.

I have found that the properties (light intensity, current draw, etc.) of a fixed length of EL wire varies greatly by supplier, so I'm not sure how that will play into your end goal.


Edit:
If you're hoping to use this for a battery calculation or something like that, don't forget about the efficiency of the inverter design - that would be huge in terms of power consumption (battery life).