Types of Light Bulbs and Their Uses

There are many types of light bulbs nowadays, and they are all designed with a certain use in mind. What follows is a short description of each major type of bulb commonly found in the home, office and factory, how they work, and their uses.

Incandescent

These are the standard bulbs that most people are familiar with. Incandescent bulbs work by using electricity to heat a tungsten filament in the bulb until it glows. The filament is either in a vacuum or in a combination of argon/nitrogen gas. Most of the energy consumed by the bulb is given off as heat, causing its Lumens per Watt performance to be low.



Because of the filament's high temperature, the tungsten tends to evaporate & collect on the sides of the bulb. The inherent imperfections in the filament causes it to become thinner unevenly. When a bulb is turned on, the sudden surge of energy may cause the narrow areas to heat up much faster than the remainder of the filament, which in turn causes the filament to break & the bulb to burn out.

Incandescent bulbs produce a steady warm, light that is nice for most household applications. A standard incandescent bulb can last for 700-1000 hours, & can be used with a dimmer. Soft white bulbs use a special coating inside the glass bulb to better diffuse the light; but the light color is not changed.

Halogen

Halogen bulbs are a variation of incandescent bulb know-how. These bulbs work by passing electricity through a tungsten filament, which is enclosed in a tube containing halogen gas. This halogen gas causes a chemical reaction to happen which removes the tungsten from the wall of the glass and deposits it back onto the filament. This extends the life of the bulb. In order for the chemical reaction to happen, the filament needs to be hotter than what is necessary for incandescent bulbs. The nice news is that a hotter filament produces a amazing white light and is more efficient (more lumens per watt).

 

The bad news is that a hotter filament means that the tungsten is evaporating that much faster. Therefore a denser, more expensive fill gas (krypton), and a higher pressure, are used to slow down the evaporation. This means that a thicker, but smaller glass bulb (envelope) is necessary, which translates to a higher cost. Due to the smaller glass envelope (bulb), the halogen bulb gets much hotter than other bulbs. A 300 watt bulb can reach over 300 degrees C. Therefore attention must be paid to where halogen bulbs are used, so that they don't accidentally come in contact with flammable materials, or burn those passing by.

Care must be taken not to touch the glass part of the bulb with our fingers. The oils from our fingers will weaken the glass and shorten the bulbs life. Plenty of times this causes the bulb to burst when the filament finally burns out.

To summarize, the halogen has the advantage of being more efficient (although not by much) and having longer life than the incandescent bulb. They are comparatively small in size and are dimmable. The disadvantages are that they are more expensive, and burn at a much higher temperature, which could possibly be a fire hazard in sure areas.

Fluorescent

These bulbs work by passing a current through a tube filled with argon gas and mercury. This produces ultraviolet radiation that bombards the phosphorous coating causing it to emit light. Bulb life is very long - 10,000 to 20,000 hours. Fluorescent bulbs are also very efficient, producing very little heat. A common misconception is that all fluorescent lamps are neutral or cool in color appearance and do not have very good color-rendering ability. This is largely due to the fact that historically the "cool white" fluorescent lamp was the industry standard. It had a very cool color appearance (4200K) and poor CRI rating (62). This is simply no longer the case. Regarding color, a wide variety of fluorescent lamps (T12, T8, T5, etc.), using rare-earth tri-phosphor technology, offer superior color rendition (as high as 95) and a wide range of color temperature choices (from 2700K to 5000K and higher). Fluorescent bulbs are ideal for lighting large areas where little detail work will be done (e.g. basements, storage lockers, etc.). With the new type bulbs, and style of fixtures coming out, fluorescents can be used in most places around the home. Most fluorescent bulb cannot be used with dimmers.

Note that fluorescent bulbs need components called ballasts to provide the right amount of voltage. There are primarily two types - magnetic and electronic. Electronic ballasts solve some of the flickering and humming problems associated with magnetic ballast, and are more efficient, but cost more to purchase. Some ballasts need a starter to work along with it. Starters are sort of small mechanical timers, needed to cause a stream of electrons to flow across the tube and ionize the mercury vapor.

On tube type fluorescent bulbs, the letter T designates that the bulb is tubular in shape. The number after it expresses the diameter of the bulb in eighths of an inch.

Compact Fluorescent Lamps

Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFLs) are a contemporary type of light bulbs, that work like fluorescent bulbs, but in a much smaller package. Similar to regular fluorescent bulbs, they produce tiny heat & are efficient. They are available to fit screw type base fittings & pin type (snap-in). Most CFLs either consist of a lot of short glass sticks, or four or four small tubular loops. Sometimes, they are enclosed in a glass bowl, made to look similar to a regular incandescent bulb. Most CFLs cannot be used with dimmers. They normally last up to 10,000 hours.

Approximate Equivalents to Incandescent Bulbs
CFL	Incandescent
7–10 Watts	40 Watts
15-18 Watts	60 Watt
20 Watts	75 Watts
20-25 Watts	100 Watt
32 Watts	150 Watts

High-Intensity Discharge Lamps

High Pressure Sodium (HPS), Metal Halide, Mercury Vapor and Self-Ballasted Mercury Lamps are all high intensity discharge lamps (HID). With the exception of self-ballasted lamps, auxiliary equipment such as ballasts and starters must be provided for proper starting and operation of each type bulb. Compared to fluorescent and incandescent lamps, HID lamps produce a large quantity of light from a relatively small bulb.

HID lamps produce light by striking an electrical arc across tungsten electrodes housed inside a specially designed inner glass tube. This tube is filled with both gas and metals. The gas aids in the starting of the lamps. Then, the metals produce the light once they are heated to a point of evaporation.

Metal Halide Bulb

Standard high-pressure sodium lamps have the highest efficacy of all HID lamps, but they produce a yellowish light. High-pressure sodium lamps that produce a whiter light are now available, but efficiency is sacrificed. Metal halide lamps are less efficient but produce a whiter, more natural light. Colored metal halide lamps are also available. HID lamps are usually used not only when energy efficiency and/or long life are desired, but also when high levels of light are necessary over large areas. Such areas include gymnasiums, large public areas, outdoor activity areas, roadways, pathways, & parking lots. Lately, metal halide is successfully being used in residential environments.

Low-Pressure Sodium Lamps

Low-pressure sodium lamps have the highest efficacy of all commercially available lighting sources. Although they emit a yellow light, a low-pressure sodium lamp should not be confused with a standard high-pressure sodium lamp. Low-pressure sodium lamps operate much like a fluorescent lamp & need a ballast. There is a brief warm-up period for the lamp to reach full brightness.

With a CRI of 0, low-pressure sodium lamps are used where color rendition is not important but energy efficiency is. They are often used for outdoor, roadway, automobile parking zone, & pathway lighting.

LED (Light Emitting Diodes)

Light Emitting Diodes (LED) are bulbs without a filament, that are low in power consumption & have a long life span. LEDs are beginning to rival conventional lighting, but regrettably they don't have the output (lumen) needed to replace incandescent, & other type, bulbs yet. Seldom the less, know-how is advancing everyday, & it won't be long until the LED bulb will be the bulb of choice for most applications in the house & workplace.