Def; the portion of a light fixture that produces lumens or light. As the Polaner Jam lady would say, Please don't dare call it jelly...in this case, Please don't dare call it a BULB! You plant bulbs in the spring. You install lamps into light fixtures.
The lamp portion of a light fixture comes in a variety of wattage's, voltages, sizes, colors and lumen outputs. Here are a 3 things to consider when choosing the right lamp.
Just like jam, there are multiple colors and flavors of lamps. Picking a lamp can be just as personal as picking your favorite toast topping. Consider the location that you are trying to light. If you are in an office setting, then you would choose a lamp that is different than what you would use in an art gallery.
1: The first decision you will need to make is functionality. There are many types of lamps that may require additional components, such as ballasts to make them work. Additionally, there are numerous types of connection points at the base of lamps. A19 is the most common base of a lamp. However, in your home you may have A19's, candelabra base, and CFL GU24 base, just to name a few. This is also the time to make sure you grab a dimmable lamp, if that is something you need.
2: Next you need to consider the temperature of the lamp you should choose. Warm will have a yellow, sunlike tone, while Cool will have a blue, auroralike tone. Depending on location, use and personal preference there are many options of jelly, I mean bulbs you can choose.
3: The color rendering index is the measurement of light in relation to how it affects the appearance of color. If you are serious about the light output of your light fixture, then select a lamp with a CRI rating of 80 or better out of a possible 100.
For more reading on CRI check out this article by LED Lighting Supply. Of course energy consumption and lamp efficiency are also to be considered. We will dive deeper into that in future posts. For all of your lighting installation, maintenance and repair needs, contact Unity Power Services.