Lighting Options

Incandescent Lighting:

Pros: Warm light Bright lighting Ease of disposal Dimmable

Cons: Uses more power Shorter life span

The incandescent light bulb, or incandescent lamp, is a source of artificial light that works by incandescence. An electric current passes through a thin filament, heating it until it produces light. The enclosing glass bulb prevents the oxygen in air from reaching the hot filament, which otherwise would be destroyed rapidly by oxidation. Incandescent bulbs are made in a wide range of sizes and voltages, from 1.5 volts to about 300 volts. They require no external regulating equipment and have a low manufacturing cost, and work well on either alternating current or direct current. As a result the incandescent lamp is widely used in household and commercial lighting, for portable lighting, such as table lamps, some car headlamps and electric flashlights.

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Compact Fluorescent Lights:

Pros: Energy efficient Money saving Longer life Bright lighting

Cons: Most cannot be dimmed May contain mercury

A compact fluorescent lamp (CFL) is an efficient illuminating device. Many CFLs are designed to replace an incandescent lamp and can fit in the existing light fixtures formerly used for incandescent. Compared to general service incandescent lamps giving the same amount of visible light, or more, CFLs use less power and have a longer rated life. In the United States, a CFL can save over $30 in electricity costs, per lamp, over the lamp's lifetime compared to an incandescent lamp and save 2000 times its own weight in greenhouse gases. The downfall of CFL's is that currently, many cannot be dimmed..

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Fluorescent Tube Lighting:

Pros: Bright lighting Energy efficient Long life

Cons: Requires special fixture Contains mercury High initial costs

A fluorescent lamp or fluorescent tube is a gas-discharge lamp that uses electricity to excite mercury vapor. The excited mercury atoms produce short-wave ultraviolet light that then causes a phosphor to fluoresce, producing visible light. Unlike incandescent lamps, fluorescent lamps always require a ballast to regulate the flow of power through the lamp. However, a fluorescent lamp converts electrical power into useful light more efficiently than an incandescent lamp; lower energy costs offsets the higher initial cost of the lamp. Compared with incandescent lamps, fluorescent lamps use less power for the same amount of light, generally last longer, but are bulkier, more complex, and more expensive than a comparable incandescent lamp.

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Halogen Lighting:

Pros: Very bright Long life Higher color temperature Dimmable

Cons: Expensive High operating temperature Requires special fixture

A halogen lamp is an incandescent lamp in which a tungsten filament is sealed into a compact transparent envelope filled with an inert gas, plus a small amount of halogen such as iodine or bromine. The halogen cycle increases the lifetime of the bulb and prevents its darkening by redepositing tungsten from the inside of the bulb back onto the filament. The halogen lamp can operate its filament at a higher temperature than in a standard gas filled lamp of similar wattage without loss of operating life. This gives it a higher efficacy (10-30%). It also gives light of a higher color temperature compared to a non-halogen incandescent lamp. Alternatively, it may be designed to have perhaps twice the life with the same or slightly higher efficacy. Because of their smaller size, halogen lamps can advantageously be used with optical systems that are more efficient.

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Xenon Lighting:

Pros: Very bright Long life Higher color temperature Dimmable

Cons: Expensive High operating temperature Requires special fixture

A xenon arc lamp is an artificial light source. Powered by electricity, it uses ionized xenon gas to produce a bright white light that closely mimics natural daylight. Each consists of a glass or fused quartz arc tube with tungsten metal electrodes at each end. The glass tube is first evacuated and then re-filled with xenon gas. Xenon lighting runs hot, but runs much cooler than halogen lamps.

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