Lighting lamps: types, characteristics, purpose

2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 00:21

The life of a modern person is unthinkable without the use of electricity. To date, the bulk of light sources - electric. About 15% of the total amount of electricity generated is consumed by lighting devices. In order to reduce energy consumption, increase light output and increase the life of light sources, it is necessary to use the most economical light sources, gradually abandoning older and unreasonably energy-intensive counterparts.

Light lamps

Let's consider the generally accepted classification. Based on the principles of operation of electrical appliances in terms of lighting, the following types of lighting lamps are distinguished: incandescent lamps, including halogen incandescent lamps and discharge lamps, as well as LED lamps, which have become increasingly popular over the past few years.

It is worth noting that electric lamps differ in shape, size, quantityenergy consumption and heat transfer, service life, cost. So, let's look at electric lighting lamps in more detail and determine the advantages and disadvantages of each type.

Lamp Types

Which lamp is the cheapest and easiest to use? This is the familiar incandescent lighting lamp - a veteran in the work of numerous household electrical appliances. Their low price and ease of use have made them popular for more than a decade. They are not afraid of temperature changes, they instantly ignite and do not contain dangerous mercury vapors.

Produce lamps of various power from 25 to 150 watts. True, the number of working hours for such lamps is low, only 1000, and the electricity consumption is much higher than that of energy-saving counterparts. Over time, due to the vapors released during operation, the glass of the lamp becomes cloudy and loses its brightness. Therefore, they are unprofitable, and over time they are abandoned. So, in many European countries, their production and sale are discontinued and prohibited by law.

Reflector lamps

Found their application and incandescent reflector lamps. They are in many ways reminiscent of an ordinary incandescent lamp, the only difference is the silver-plated surface. This is used to create directional lighting at a specific point, for example, on a shop window or billboard. They are labeled R50, R63, and R80, where the number indicates the diameter. They are easy to use, equipped with a standard E14 or E27 screw base.

Fluorescent lamps

As you know, forThe operation of lighting devices requires about 15% of all generated electricity. Agree, it's a lot. To reduce this indicator, it is necessary to switch to more economical light sources. According to the current legislation, from 2014 the power of lighting lamps should not exceed 25 watts. Traditional incandescent lamps have been replaced by energy-saving fluorescent lamps, which consume five times less electricity, while the level of illumination remains the same. What are they? This is a white glass flask, coated on the inside with a phosphor and containing an inert gas with a small amount of mercury vapor. The collision of electrons with mercury vapor produces ultraviolet radiation, and this, in turn, is converted into the light that we are accustomed to seeing due to the phosphor.

The service life of such lamps is about a year, or 10,000 hours of continuous operation. But lighting lamps of this type have one significant drawback: they contain mercury. Therefore, they require very careful use and special disposal conditions. They must not be dropped or simply thrown into the trash - after all, as you know, mercury vapor, even in small quantities, is very dangerous. In addition, getting into the air, they do not dissolve, but hang, poisoning everything around. Thus, the amount of mercury vapor from one broken lamp is approximately 50 mg³ at an acceptable vapor concentration level of 0.01 mg/m^3.

Another disadvantage of such lamps: the color of some of them is unpleasant for the eyes, theyThe lighting is quite aggressive. There is a way out: when choosing a lamp, its color temperature should be taken into account. It is measured in Kelvin (K). So, a softer, warmer shade is given by lamps marked 2700K - 3000K, this indicator is the most optimal for human eyes when working indoors, as it is closest to natural sunlight.

Using fluorescent lighting

Among the huge number of electric lamps, there are those whose main task is to work continuously for many hours in a row. They are used in premises of a certain type: hospitals, supermarkets, warehouses, offices. It is believed that their light is closest to natural light, hence the name: fluorescent lamps.

Lamps are produced in the form of an elongated glass tube with contact electrodes at the edges. They have also been used at home. They are used as the main source of light on the ceiling or mounted on the walls as an additional one. They are very convenient, for example, in the kitchen, above the work surface, when directional lighting is needed, or as decorative lighting in niches, under shelves and paintings, for illuminating aquariums or heating indoor plants in the cold season. They work from a conventional network and do not require special current converters. Such lamps are considered energy-saving, since compared to an old-style incandescent lamp, they practically do not heat up, consume up to 10 times less energy, and their service life is about 10,000 hours of continuous operation. But there is one caveat: thislighting is usually used indoors at a temperature of 15-25 degrees. At lower temperatures, they simply will not work. In addition to white and yellow, such lamps can emit other shades: blue, red, green, blue, ultraviolet. The choice of color depends on the purpose and scope.

Halogen bulbs

Today, more than one type of lamp is used, consuming half the electricity than their predecessors. Such lamps are classified as energy-saving. These are halogen lighting lamps widely used in daily life. Due to their compact size, they are convenient to use in lighting fixtures such as floor lamps, sconces, ceiling lamps with a non-standard shade, for decorative built-in lighting.

To fill the flask of such a lamp, a mixture of special gases with bromine or iodine vapor is used. When the device is connected to the mains, the filament (tungsten coil) heats up and glows. Unlike a conventional electric light bulb, here tungsten does not settle on the walls of the bulb when heated, but in combination with gas gives a brighter and longer glow, up to 4000 hours. Such lamps emit ultraviolet rays, which is very harmful to the eyes. Therefore, high-quality lamps have a special protective coating. They are very sensitive to voltage fluctuations and can fail very quickly.

Energy saving lamps

The universal and energy-efficient light source today are those that are forworks use several times less energy, while not reducing the power of the generated flow. As, for example, energy-saving lamps designed for residential and office premises. They are versatile and can be used in different types of lighting fixtures.

The characteristics of this type of lighting lamps: power consumption is several times lower than incandescent lamps, lasts up to 10 times longer, does not heat up, does not flicker, does not hum, is strong enough and does not contain hazardous components.

Among the shortcomings, the following can be distinguished: slow warm-up (up to 2 minutes), work at a temperature not lower than 15 degrees. They cannot be used outdoors in open fixtures.

Main advantages of LEDs

But one of the most beneficial in terms of energy savings are LED or LED-lamps. Translated from English LED - light emitting diode - "light emitting diode". The light output of such lamps is 60-100 Lm/W, and the average service life is 30,000-50,000 hours. At the same time, modern lighting lamps of this type do not heat up and are completely safe to use. Well, if one of the bulbs burns out, this will not affect the operation of the entire mechanism, it will continue to work.

Their color temperature is quite varied - from soft yellow to cold white. The choice of color depends on the use of the room and the preferences of the owner. So, for example, for the office it is better to choose bright white with a mark of 6400K, fornatural lighting is suitable for a child's room, not so aggressive, 4200K, but for the bedroom - a slightly yellowish tint, 2700K.

And one more plus: they do not have the main drawback of fluorescent lamps: buzzing and flickering, and the eyes are very comfortable in such lighting. They operate from a conventional 220 W network and are equipped with a standard E27 and E14 base.

Using LEDs in everyday life

Interestingly, a dozen years ago there was no such thing as LED lamps for the home. Only an auto mechanic could tell how to choose and install them - after all, they were used mainly on the dashboard of a car and indicator lights. Today, their use at home has become so commonplace that we don’t even think about choosing between LED lamps and old-style lamps, the choice is so obvious and not in favor of the latter. The main point: in LED lamps, the current is a constant value, so heating costs are minimal. Consequently, they do not heat up and, like fluorescent lamps, can last for many years. Even despite their high cost, they are beneficial to use. By consuming less energy, these lamps help reduce your monthly electricity bill. By the way, when choosing LED lamps for your home, you should take into account such a difference in power. There is one secret. You need to know the power that a general purpose lighting lamp consumes and divide it by 8. For example, if you change a regular lamp at 100 W, then 100: 8=12.5. So you need an LED lamp with a power of 12 W or more.

Another no less important indicator is that such lamps have different light temperatures. From this indicator depends on how comfortable lighting will give the LED lighting lamp in the room. Of the existing shades of white light, the most optimal is the shade in the range of 2600-3200 K and 3700-4200 K. Such light is soft, closest to natural sunlight and pleasing to the eyes. An indicator of 6000 K gives a very cold white tint, and less than 2600 K - an oppressive yellow. Such shades are harmful to the eyes, a person gets tired quickly, headaches may appear and vision may deteriorate. Therefore, it is very important to purchase only high-quality LED lamps for the home. How to choose, the consultant in the store will tell you, as well as provide all the necessary quality certificates.

Whatever one may say, the LED lamp is beneficial in many ways.

- It consumes several times less electricity.

- It does not heat up during operation, which makes it possible to use it with flammable materials, for example, in cornices, false ceilings. A large number of such lamps do not overheat the air in the room.

- Such lamps do not burn out, but over time they only lose their brightness, up to about 30%.

- Long service life, up to 15 years.

So, having an idea of what types of light bulbs are, knowing their main characteristics, advantages and disadvantages, you can safely go to the nearest store. But there is one more important point, without which even a simpleA burnt out lamp cannot be replaced. After all, in order to choose a lamp for a lighting fixture, you need to know what kind of base it is. With the help of the base, the lamp is attached to the cartridge, and it is he who supplies electric current to the bulb.

Choose the right base

Metal or ceramics are used to make the base. And inside there are contacts that transmit electric current to the working elements of the device. Each lighting fixture is equipped with one or more lamp sockets. It is important that the base of the purchased lamp matches the cartridge. Otherwise, it will not work.

Despite the variety of types of lamp bases in everyday life, two types are more often used: threaded and pin.

The threaded base is also called the screw base. The name accurately conveys the way it was connected to the lamp socket. It is screwed into lighting lamps; for this, a thread is applied to its surface. The letter E is used for marking. This type is used in many types of lamps in household appliances. These plinths vary in size. So, when marking the base, after the Latin letter E, the manufacturer must indicate the diameter of the threaded connection. In everyday life, plinths of two sizes are most often used - E14 and E27. But there are also more powerful lighting lamps, for example, for street lighting. They use an E40 base. The size of threaded connections has remained unchanged for many decades. Even now, you can easily replace a burned-out ordinary light bulb in an old chandelier with a more economical, LED one. The dimensions of the base and cartridge they havematch exactly. But in America and Canada, other parameters are adopted. Since their mains voltage is 110V, in order to avoid the use of European-style light bulbs, the base diameter is different: E12, E17, E26 and E39.

Another type of socles used in everyday life is a pin. It is attached to the cartridge with two metal pins. They act as contacts that transmit electricity to the light bulb. The pins differ in diameter and distance between them. For marking, the Latin letter G is used, followed by a digital designation of the gap between the pins. These are sockets G4, G9 and G13.

Now you can safely start repairing. And even though only specialists can do the redevelopment or construction of new walls, you can handle the choice and replacement of electric lamps on your own.