Lesson 1.3: Types of Light Sources

12 CEng 121: ENGINEERING UTILITIES 01
Lesson 1.3: TYPES OF LIGHT SOURCES
Lesson Summary
Now that you have been introduced to the Light, it is now time to discuss the
various sources of light. Lights can come from either natural or artificial light
source. These light sources can then be harnessed to light up a space based
on the requirement of the space itself. In this lesson, the two types of light
sources are discussed as well as the Color Rendering Index and Color
Temperature that define an aspect of the light source
Learning Outcomes
1. At the end of this lesson, the student should be able to differentiate the
various types and classification of light sources.
Motivation Question
Observe your room during the day and night (when you are doing work). During
the day, how many light sources can you see? During the night, how many light
sources can you see?
Discussion
Light sources play a huge role on the effect of a lighting design. The improper
use of a light source might not achieve the desired effect of the lighting design.
Light Sources are categorized into two types, namely Natural and Artificial Light
Source.
A. Natural Light Source

There is only one natural light source that we, as designers, can harness, and
that is our Sun. Our Sun is categorized as a yellow dwarf that is a hot burning
gas consisting of 91.0% hydrogen and 8.9% helium. (NASA Science, 2019)
Although it is very far from the Earth, its light and heat are still able to sustain
life on our marble planet. Just like any other planet in our solar system, the
Earth also revolves our Sun, however the path or orbit that the Earth follows
resembles an ellipse rather than a circle. Furthermore, the sun is not at the
center of the orbit of the Earth. These characteristics of the Earth orbit produces
three phenomena called the Seasons – which is the change in weather pattern
on a specific location, Equinoxes – which are the dates of the year where the
earth receives equal amount of night and day, and Solstices – which are the
dates in a year where either the day or night is longer. (Williams, 2014) On the
other hand, the earth’s rotation on its axis produces the Day-Night Cycle
where one side of the Earth that faces the Sun receives light while the other
side is shaded. However, since the earth’s axis is tilted at an angle, not all
surface of the earth receives equal amounts of sunlight. These phenomena
are then used as basis for the lighting design method that harnesses the light
coming from the sun.
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The lighting design method by which the light of day is utilized is called
Daylighting. This method utilizes not only the direct sunlight but as well as
lights that bounces off from certain surfaces of the earth and sky which are
collectively called Light of Day. (Ching, A Visual Dictionary of Architecture,
2012) The following are the three main types of Light of Day.
Ground
light
Figure 14 Types of Light of Day
a. Sunlight is the direct light from the Sun that enters the building space.
(Ching, A Visual Dictionary of Architecture, 2012)
b. Skylight is the light that is reflected and diffused from air molecules, in
the form of fog and clouds, prior to entering a building space. (Ching,
A Visual Dictionary of Architecture, 2012)
c. Ground Light is the light reflected from surfaces, such as the ground
and other objects, prior to entering the building space. (Ching, A Visual
Dictionary of Architecture, 2012)
The intensity or radiance of these lights of day is controlled by the amount of
cloud cover present on our skies. (Ching, A Visual Dictionary of Architecture,
2012) The most common references for intensity for light of day are:
a. Clear Sky with less than 30% cloud cover
b. Cloudy Sky with cloud cover ranging from 30 – 70%; and
c. Overcast Sky with a 100% cloud cover
Figure 15 Cloud Cover: Clear Sky (Left), Cloudy Sky (Middle), and Overcast Sky (Right)
In a clear sky, the sunlight is more prevalent thus creating more intense light.
On the otherhand during overcast sky, the light we receive is softer.
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Another factor considered in

Daylighting is the position of the
Sun relative to the building site.
Although it is universally
acceptable that the Sun travels
from the East to West direction,
its position still varies depending
on the longitude and latitude of
the site, and the date of the year
the design will be based on. This
factor is tracked through the use
of a Sun Path Diagram. In the
figure shown, the yellow line
indicates the sun path on
September 03, 2020. The top
most curve indicate the Summer
Solstice while the bottom most Figure 16 Sample of Sun Path Diagram
curve indicates the Winter
Solstice, Generated from:
https://www.sunearthtools.com/dp/tools/pos_sun.
Further details on the Methods of php#top
Daylighting will be discussed in
succeeding lessons.
B. Artificial Light Source
The second light source

used in lighting design is
called the Artificial Lights.
These lights are
manufactured in production
lines and are available in
the market for consumers.
Artificial Lighting is the
method by which artificial
lights are utilized with the
aid of an energy source,
commonly electrical
source. (Wujek &
Dagostino, 2010)
Artificial lights, also known
as Luminaires, consist of
multiple components in
order to function properly.
These parts are the (a)
lamp, (b) lamp socket, (c)
lenses, reflector, or louvers,
(d) ballast, and (e) housing. Figure 17 Components of a Luminaire
(Wujek & Dagostino, 2010)
a. Lamp is a device which produces lights. This consists of a bulb (glass)
and a lamp base.
b. Lamp Socket supports, connects, and makes contacts with the lamp
base to provide energy to the lamp.
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c. Lenses, Reflector, or Louver are devices that controls the distribution

of light by either concentrating or dispersing the light.
1. Lenses are transparent or translucent devices that concentrates or
disperses light that is incident to its surface.
2. Reflectors are devices with smooth surfaces that redirect lights to
concentrate or disperse it.
3. Louvers are devices that changes the direction of the light to
reduce glare to the viewers.
Figure 18 Effects of Lens (Left), Reflectors (Middle), and Louvers (Right)
d. Ballast is a device that maintains the current that flow to the lamp.
e. Housing is a device that holds or contains the other components of the
luminaire.
Most often than not, when purchasing lighting equipment, the lamp is
separately sold from the rest of the components. These components, without
the lamp, is called Lighting Fixture. (Wujek & Dagostino, 2010)
Lamps can be classified depending on the Element That Produces Light. It
could either be (a) Incandescent Lamps, (b) Gaseous Discharge Lamps, or (c)
Solid-State Lighting.
a. Incandescent Lamps are lamps that produce light by means of heating
a filament. (Wujek & Dagostino, 2010)These lamps are known to have
a low efficiency, meaning that they consume so much energy to
produce ample amount of light.
The lamp works by passing through electrical energy through the
filament. The filament provides resistance against the energy which
causes the heating of the filament. As it heats up more and more, the
filament glows or incandesce thus producing the light. (Wujek &
Dagostino, 2010)
Filament
When no energy is When energy is starting When it received

introduced to be introduced highest possible energy
Figure 19 Incandescent Lamp Working Principle
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The most common incandescent lamps are as follow:

1. Tungsten Incandescent Lamp which uses tungsten as its filament;
and
2. Tungsten-Halogen Incandescent Lamps, commonly called
Halogen Lamps, are lamps that still utilizes tungsten as its filament
and has high-pressure halogen gas so that the tungsten can
operate at higher temperature resulting to brighter lights. (Wujek &
Dagostino, 2010)
b. Gaseous Discharge Lamp are lamps that uses gases as medium for
the electrical discharge that produces electrical arcs, upon transferring
from one molecule to the next, which are the source of light. (Wujek &
Dagostino, 2010)
Electrode
Glass Bulb
Pressured Gas
Electrode
When no energy is When energy is starting When it received

introduced to be introduced highest possible energy
Figure 20 Gaseous Discharge Lamp Working Principle
The most common gaseous discharge lamps are as follows:

1. Low Pressure Discharge are lamps that uses low pressured
gasses as medium for electrical discharge. (Wujek & Dagostino,
2010)
i Fluorescent Lamps (FL) are lamps that have the interior of
their bulbs coated with phosphor coating and the lamp is filled
with low pressure mercury. (Ching, A Visual Dictionary of
Architecture, 2012) Fluorescent lamps can either be linear or
compact.
a.) Linear Fluorescent Lamps (LFL) are the standard shape
of fluorescent lamps that could either be straight, U, or
circular in shape.
b.) Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFL) are miniaturized
fluorescent lamp that are designed to replace tungsten
incandescent lamps.
ii Neon Lights are lamps with varying low-pressure gasses to
achieve a specific color of light.
iii Low-Pressure Sodium (LPS) Lamp are lamps that uses low-
pressure sodium and neon-argon gas mixture. This lamp is the
most efficient in terms of energy consumption and intensity of
light produced, however, has very poor color rendering.
2. High-Intensity Discharge (HID) Lamps are lamps that produce
“very bright lamps by discharging an arc when electrical current”
passes through a high-pressured metal gas. (Wujek & Dagostino,
2010) The most common HID lamps are Metal Vapor (MV) lamps,
Metal Halide (MH) Lamps, High-Pressure Sodium (HPS) Lamps,
Ceramic Discharge Metal Halide, and Xenon Arc Lighting.
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c. Solid-State Lighting (SSL) refers to lamps that “uses light-emitting

diodes (LED), organic light-emitting diode (OLED) or polymer light-
emitting diodes (PLED) lights.” (Wujek & Dagostino, 2010) The lights
from LEDs are generated from the transferring of electrons from one
material to the next.
Aside from the classification of lamps according to the element that produces
the light, lamps may also be classified according to the Type of Bulb being
used. Some of the common bulbs used in lamp production are illustrated below.
A Bulb B Bulb C Bulb CA Bulb PS Bulb G Bulb S Bulb
TB Bulb BT Bulb BT Bulb E Bulb E Bulb
R Bulb PAR Bulb ER Bulb A/SB Bulb MR Bulb
Linear Tubular Bulb or T Bulb Circline U-Bent Compact Fluorescent

Bulb Bulb Bulbs
Figure 21 Types of Bulbs
Table 1 Available Bulbs per Type of Lighting Element

Circline Bulb
U-Bent Bulb
A/SB Bulb
PAR Bulb
Compact
MR Bulb
CA Bulb
ER Bulb
PS Bulb
TB Bulb
BT Bulb
G Bulb
C Bulb
R Bulb
A Bulb
B Bulb
S Bulb
E Bulb
T Bulb
Incandescent ●●●●●●●● ●●●●●

Low Pressure Gaseous Discharge ● ●●●●
High Pressure Gaseous Discharge ●●
Solid State Lights ● ●
Solid State Lights are also available as a complete luminaire and strip
lighting.
Lamps are constantly evolving depending on the need and use of the lamps.
Checking the market from time to time might be necessary to keep up with the
trend.
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C. Correlated Color Temperature
Light sources, as mentioned, produces not only lights by colors as well. Both
light sources may produce varying light colors depending on two categories.
First, light source could be categorized based on it Correlated Color
Temperature (CCT). In this category, the lights are compared to an object or
body that is heated and incandesces. The temperature is then measured in
Kelvins which is the value considered as CCT. The color temperature changes
from red to orange, to yellow, to white, and finally blue as the temperature rises.
Figure 22 Correlated Color Temperature
In the industry, three main colors are considered for lighting which are Warm
White, Daylight, and Cool White. Depending on the brand of the lamp, color
temperature may vary.
Warm White
Daylight
Cool White
Figure 23 Correlated Color Temperature
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D. Color Rendering Index
Light source may also be categorized based on its Color Rendering Index
(CRI) which is the ability of the light to show the color of the object realistically
or naturally or simply how a light source makes the color of an object appear to
the human eyes. (Wujek & Dagostino, 2010) An approximate CRI for various
lamps is shown below.
Table 2 Approximate CRI for Various Lamps (Wujek & Dagostino, 2010)
Lamp Type Approx. CRI Lamp Type Approx. CRI

Natural Light 100 Metal Halide 65 – 75
Incandescent 95 – 99 HPS 20 – 25
Fluorescent 22 – 92 LPS 0
Mercury Vapor 15 – 50 LED 83 - 100
Theoretically, the higher the value of the CRI the better the rendition of the
colors would be.
--------------------------------------- End of Discussion --------------------------------------
Learning Tasks/Activities
1. Assignment 01 – Available Artificial Lamps – Online Submission
Assessment
• Quiz 02 – Online Platform
END OF LESSON
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12 CEng 121: ENGINEERING UTILITIES 01

Lesson 1.3: TYPES OF LIGHT SOURCES

A. Natural Light Source

Figure 14 Types of Light of Day

Another factor considered in

B. Artificial Light Source

The second light source

c. Lenses, Reflector, or Louver are devices that controls the distribution

Figure 18 Effects of Lens (Left), Reflectors (Middle), and Louvers (Right)

When no energy is When energy is starting When it received

The most common incandescent lamps are as follow:

When no energy is When energy is starting When it received

The most common gaseous discharge lamps are as follows:

c. Solid-State Lighting (SSL) refers to lamps that “uses light-emitting

A Bulb B Bulb C Bulb CA Bulb PS Bulb G Bulb S Bulb

TB Bulb BT Bulb BT Bulb E Bulb E Bulb

R Bulb PAR Bulb ER Bulb A/SB Bulb MR Bulb

Linear Tubular Bulb or T Bulb Circline U-Bent Compact Fluorescent

Figure 21 Types of Bulbs

Table 1 Available Bulbs per Type of Lighting Element

Incandescent ●●●●●●●● ●●●●●

C. Correlated Color Temperature

Figure 22 Correlated Color Temperature

Figure 23 Correlated Color Temperature

D. Color Rendering Index

Lamp Type Approx. CRI Lamp Type Approx. CRI

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