Often, when it is time to replace a light bulb the easiest course of action to take is to look at the bulb that you take out and simply replace it. What if you want to understand what you have so you know how to search for a replacement? The numbers and letters are abbreviations and with the knowledge of what they mean you can easily look for the light bulb you want.
Wattage
Wattage is the amount of energy the light uses per hour. In the same family of light bulbs (like incandescents) the higher the wattage the brighter the light is. The disadvantage is that you use more energy. So, if a light bulb is 100 watts, you are using 100 watts of energy per hour. You'll often see this shortened and will see the abbreviation look like this: 100W or 100w. If you are using a compact fluorescent the number will be more like 16w.
Bulb Shape
With Philips Lighting, for example, there are at least 50 bulb shapes in incandescent light bulbs. With halogen and halogena' you will find at least 32 bulb shapes. In Philips Fluorescent and Compact Fluorescent groups there are at least 38 bulb shapes. And lastly with HID, Specialty and LED light Bulbs there are over 50 bulb shapes.
If you are using a PAR 38 in your recessed lighting, that same bulb shape is available in an incandescent, halogen, compact fluorescent or metal halide. The overall length may vary a little but the basic shape of the light bulb will be the same.
Holly has over 10 years experience in the lighting industry. If you'd like to get more information from Holly about Lighting Design or Choosing the right Light Bulbs for your applications visit her website at Light Bulb Market.
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