| Incandescent light, the kind we’re most familiar with, is produced by a tungsten filament that burns slowly inside a glass bulb. Incandescent light has a warm, comfortable glow that gets even warmer when it’s dimmed.
Incandescent bulbs are inexpensive and easy to find; they fit a wide variety of fixture types and styles. They’re also easy to dim using standard dimmers.
On the minus side, incandescent is the least energy-efficient light source now available, and it tends not to last as long as other sources. For a closer look at how various light types stack up, see “Bulb Comparisons at a Glance.” |
A-BULBS are the old incandescent
standbys; they actually date back to the 1800s. As shown below,
A-bulbs come in clear, frosted, and colored versions (including
skin- flattering pink and a new blue-coated “daylight”
bulb.) The light emitted from an A-bulb spreads in all directions
– it’s the fixture or shade that shapes the light.
A-bulb sizes
include A15,  A17, A19, A21, and A23. Common wattages range
from 15 to 250 watts.
Three-way bulbs, which fit special floor and table lamps,
have twin filaments that combine to produce switchable spreads
from 30/70/100 to 100/200/300 watts.
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 R (REFLECTOR) BULBS brought
directional accent lighting to the residential scene when they
were first introduced in the 1950s. Internal aluminized reflectors
allowed them to project light forward, paving the way for two
now-classic fixtures: tracks and recessed downlights. By today’s
standards, though, R-bulbs are big and bulky; more important,
they’re now considered energy hogs – so much so
that they’re being phased out. The similarly shaped PAR
bulb is generally much more efficient, and while there are incandescent
PAR bulbs out there, most are now halogen.
The ER (ellipsoidal reflector) bulb actually focuses light
a few inches in front of the bulb, so it “bites”
better than the regular R-bulb, allowing equal impact for
fewer watts.
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 SB
(SILVERED – BOWL) BULBS are shaped like A-bulbs,
but their silvered caps cut glare and provide some indirect
light when used in pendants, track fixtures, and downlights.
T (TUBULAR) BULBS are, yes,
tube-shaped. Available in clear and frosted versions, they’re
used in pharmacy lamps, task lamps, under-cabinet strips, and
picture lights.
DECORATIVE BULBS – those
meant to be seen – are still incandescent’s strong
suit. Traditional chandeliers and sconces usually spot clear
or frosted flame-shaped bulbs; some pendants call for globe-shaped
bulbs. Most larger decorative types of bulbs have the standard
“medium screw base”; others have smaller screw bases,
and some have twin-pin bases.
INCANDESCENT TUBES, producing
a warm, even glow that flatters skin tones, look like fluorescents.
Unlike fluorescents, though, these tubes are expensive –
and they won’t last nearly as long.
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| SPEAKING IN CODE |
Light bulbs are sometimes identified with a terse numbering
system that seems obscure, but it’s actually simple
to crack. Here’s an example:
50WR30
The code works like this: wattage + bulb shape abbreviation
+ diameter. In this case, it’s a 50-watt R-bulb
that’s 30/8 inches in diameter.
It’s 30/8 inches in diameter? Yes, the numbers given
for size are in 1/8-inch increments, so a size 30 is about
3 ¾ inches across. An A19 A-bulb measures about
2 3/8 inches across.
Sometimes a code for beam spread or pattern is tagged
onto the end. If the listing says “50WR30FL,”
the FL stands for “flood.” VNSP means “very
narrow spot.”
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