Light Bulb Types

The three major categories of light bulbs are incandescent, florescent, and halogen. These terms refer to the material that produces the light from inside the light bulb shell.

 

Incandescent: Incandescent light bulbs contain a filament that glows when it is heated via electricity. The traditional light bulb for lamps is a incandescent A-line bulb. Incandescent bulbs are popular because they are the cheapest light bulbs on the market. Depending on their design, they offer 15 to 150 watts, and you can use them with dimmer switches and three-way light fixtures. Unfortunately, incandescent light bulbs are not particularly energy-efficient, and they only last for 750 to 1,000 hours, which is significantly less time than competing bulbs offer.

 

Florescent: Florescent bulbs (or, in most cases, tubes) contain a mercury vapor that emits UV radiation, which the bulb’s coating then converts to visible light. Traditionally, florescent bulbs are linear tubes, but U-shaped and circular florescent tubes also exist. Florescent light bulbs are more expensive than incandescent bulbs, but they last much longer, so many people use them in hard to reach locations, such as under counters or high in attics.

 

The current phenomenon in florescent lighting is compact florescent light bulbs (CFL). These bulbs fit into standard sockets and are often spiral tubes in the shape of traditional light bulbs. These bulbs also cost more money than do incandescent bulbs, but they last up to sixteen times longer and use sixty-seven percent less energy. A twenty-watt CFL bulb is comparable to a seventy-watt incandescent bulb. Thus, you save money over the years on both your electric bill and your light bulb expenses.

 

Halogen: Halogen bulbs are similar to incandescent bulbs in that they use a filament to produce light, but unlike in incandescent bulbs, the filament in halogen light bulbs is a capsule of halogen gas that produces heat. Halogen bulbs are more expensive than incandescent bulbs, but they last about three times as long and produce fifty percent more light than do incandescent bulbs. Of all three bulb types, halogen bulbs produce the brightest and purest light. If you have a halogen light bulb, make sure you hold it with a clean rag when you insert it; otherwise, the oils from your fingers will harm the bulb’s effectiveness.

 

Included among these types of light bulbs are light bulbs that offer special features. If you want to use a table lamp with, for example, a dimmer, a motion sensor, or a three-way switch, make sure you use light bulbs that can handle those features. Florescent light bulbs in particular often cannot perform these features. In addition, other light bulbs offer their own features; such as “grow light bulbs,” which simulate natural light to plants.