I think that CCFL's are cool. Why can't they make them bigger than 8 watts?

I think that CCFL's are cool. Why can't they make them bigger than 8 watts?

They do. Most 'neon' type lighting and signs are actually large cold cathode tubes.

And they are used for general lighting -  for example see here and here - it's an ultra futuristic cafe lit with huge cold cathode fluorescent lights!

They have too high cathode drop (about 100..200V; the potential difference between cathode connection and adjacent gas), what make loo large power dissipation not making any light.
Hot cathodes have drop in the order of 9..12V, what make them very efficient electrode technology except really low power lamps.
There were two reasons, why the cold-cathode concept is sometimes used:
- Zero heat-up time, so immunity to frequent switching - when really frequent switching is necessary, like PWM dimming
- Low current fluorescent: The power required to keep electrodes hot would be greater then the cold cathode loss on these low currents. This is when lams are long and/or very narrow diameter, so require high voltage anyway, or for low wattage lamps.

The first reason was dominating the "neon sign" applications, second LCD illumination or low power lights and static signs as well.

The development of highly reflective surfaces (those self-adhesive reflective foils) eliminate their use in sign market, LED development gradually eliminate them from other uses, like very low brightness or low power illumination.

What a cool restaurant!