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Lighting Basics- The Right Bulb

INCANDESCENT?  HALOGEN?  LED  

Determining the right type of light bulb for your lighting needs can be utterly confusing.  With so many different types of lighting available to us today, how does one weed through the options? 

On top of the large variety of choices, this industry keeps evolving and the lighting technology continues to improve.  Many of last year’s advancements are already old news and there’s a new version on the market.  It takes a lot of effort to keep up with this light bulb evolution! Here’s a quick breakdown to get you started:

INCANDESCENT:  If you are a lover of the classics, the incandescent bulb may be your match.  Standard incandescent lighting is warm in color, easily dimmed, and looks great in almost any environment.  If you tend to lean towards warmer paint hues and finish materials, and prefer a softer lighting effect- incandescent lighting may be your favorite pick.  The struggle?   Higher wattage, traditional incandescent bulbs have been phased out due to energy regulations.  So- you won’t find your 100 watt or 75 watt standard version on the shelves any longer.  Some retailers still have a supply of 60 watt (or lower) incandescent bulbs.  The phase out of this old technology will eventually come to a close, however.  Then what?  That brings up the next bulb…

ECO-HALOGEN:  Do you enjoy the ease and flexibility of incandescent lighting, but need something a little stronger for high task areas?  Meet the new incandescent: Eco Halogen.  Eco-halogen is a newly designed version of the standard incandescent bulb.  In fact, some of you may have purchased this bulb version without even realizing it differed from the original, since the phase out of the standard incandescent bulb began.  The Eco Halogen bulb has the same silhouette of a standard A-19 light bulb, but instead of a filament inside, it houses an envelope of halogen or xenon gas within the bulb structure.  This Eco-friendly adaptation makes this bulb type 30% more efficient and longer lasting than it’s predecessor.  It also has a slightly higher Kelvin rating than the old incandescent version- which can make this bulb appear brighter and whiter to our naked eye.

LED:  It’s no secret- LED seems to be where the entire lighting industry is headed.  The most energy efficient of all light sources, LED technology has definitely changed the illumination game. No filaments or gas filled envelopes here- the energy emitting diodes that comprise an LED light bulb are teeny tiny microchips, in which an electrical current passes through to illuminate the source.  The result=visible light!  There is much confusion with this new technology, however.  The conversion LED light bulbs that are widely available now have a broad range of Lumen OutputsCRI Ratings, and Kelvin Temperatures within them.  It can be an uncomfortable amount of information to try and weed through on your own.  The plus side: you can have an LED bulb in almost any color of light you wish.

Article Provided By: Creative Lighting

Design Lighting Group offers a large variety of lighting systems, Decorative Fixtures, Recessed/Track, Outdoor Lighting, LED Lighting, Antiques, and more. If you would like to discuss your lighting needs please do not hesitate to call us at 404-351-5010 or                                                               email us at info@dlightinggroup.com.