Glossary—Lighting Equipment
Compact Fluorescent Light Bulb: A light bulb designed to replace screw-in incandescent light bulbs; they are often found in table lamps, wall sconces, and hall and ceiling fixtures of commercial buildings with residential type lights. They combine the efficiency of fluorescent lighting with the convenience of standard incandescent bulbs. Light is produced the same way as other fluorescent lamps. Compact fluorescent bulbs have either electronic or magnetic ballasts.
Fluorescent Light Bulb: Usually a long, narrow, white tube made of glass, coated on the inside with fluorescent material that is connected to an electric fixture at both ends of the light bulb; they may also be circular or U-shaped. The light bulb produces light by passing electricity through mercury vapor, causing the fluorescent coating to glow, or fluoresce. Excluded are compact fluorescent light bulbs, which are listed in a separate category. Fluorescent light bulbs are included in Standard Fluorescent in the Lighting Equipment category.
Halogen Light Bulb: A type of incandescent light bulb that lasts much longer and is more efficient than a standard incandescent light bulb. The light bulb uses a halogen gas, usually iodine or bromine, that causes the evaporating tungsten to be redeposited on the filament, thus prolonging its life.
High-Intensity Discharge (HID) Light Bulb: A lamp bulb that produces light by passing electricity through gas, which causes the gas to glow. Examples of HID lamps are mercury vapor lamps, metal halide lamps, and high- and low-pressure sodium lamps. HID lamps have an extremely long life and emit many more lumens per fixture than do fluorescent lights.
Incandescent Light Bulb: A light bulb that produces a soft warm light by electrically heating a tungsten filament so that it glows. Because so much of the energy is lost as heat, these are highly inefficient sources of light. Included in this category are the familiar type of light bulbs which screw into sockets, as well as energy-efficient incandescent bulbs, such as Reflector or R-Lamps (accent and task lighting), Parabolic Aluminized Reflector (PAR) lamps (flood and spot lighting), and Ellipsoidal Reflector (ER) lamps (recessed lighting).
Return to:
“End-Use Equipment”
Specific questions may be directed to:
Alan Swenson
alan.swenson@eia.doe.gov
Phone: (202) 586-1129
FAX: (202) 586-0018
Release date: May 21, 2002
http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cbecs/char99/light_gloss.html
If you are having any technical problems with this site, please contact the EIA webmaster at wmaster@eia.doe.gov.