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Say I have a table lamp that states (via a slightly scary sticker) that it takes a 60W max bulb. Of course, that was based around incandescent wattages.
Is there any risk with putting in a CF bulb with a higher brightness but lower wattage? e.g. if I put a 23W CF (which is a 100W incandescent substitute) into this lamp?
Does anything matter besides wattage here?
No, the wattage is based on heat dissipation, so as long as the actual wattage of the bulb you are putting in is less, you're good to go.
What matters is clearance and airflow around the ballast in the base of the CFL.
CFL lamps that run in environments where airflow cannot take away the excess heat will suffer a much shorter lifespan. The higher the wattage, the more heat they will generate, though much reduced from what using an over-wattage incandescent (which can create a fire hazard) will generate.
So, basically the heat danger and extra current from using a too high wattage incandescent bulb is not present, but the CFL might, in the wrong fixture, be a danger to itself.
The whole wattage equivalent thing is because we've come to equate brightness with power dissipation, not the lumens produced or the efficiency in lumens per watt.
It will take 4 1/3 CFL lamps at 23 watts each to equal the power that an incandescent 100W bulb will require.
