Types of Lamps

Source of light:
Arc Lamps: Electric discharge through air gives intense
light.

High Temperature Lamps: Oil and gas lamps and

incandescent filament type lamps which emit light when
heated to high
temperature.

Gaseous discharge Lamps: Passing electric current

through a gas or metal vapor, which is accompanied by
visible radiation. Sodium and Mercury vapor lamps
operate on this principle
Fluorescent type Lamps: Certain lamps, when
exposed to ultraviolet rays, transform the absorbed energy
into radiations of longer wavelength within the visible
region.

The type of lamp is often named by the gas contained in

the bulb; including neon, argon, xenon, krypton, sodium,
metal halide, and mercury, or by the type of electrode as
in carbon-arc lamps.

The common fluorescent lamp is actually a low-pressure

mercury arc lamp.
Carbon Arc Lamp: The carbon arc lamp usually
operates on direct current with a series-connected ballast
resistance.

It consists of two carbon electrodes situated either

coaxially or at angles of 40°-130° to each other (the
positive electrode is usually mounted horizontally).

The lamp is lit by bringing the electrodes into contact,

after which they are separated to a certain distance, or by
means of an auxiliary electrode.
During the operation of the lamp, the electrodes burn and
vaporize, and the distance between them is maintained
Automatically
Advantages:
Super bright light, capable of lighting a large length of
street or a large factory interior.
Was the ONLY electric light available to light large areas
from 1800 – 1901
Was cheaper to light streets with the arc lamp than gas or
oil lamps
Disadvantages:
Carbon rods had to be replaced after a short period of
time.
Produces dangerous UV-A, UV-B, and UV-C rays
Creates a buzzing sound and flickering as the light burned
Creates large amounts of RFI (radio frequency
interference)
Dangerous: it is a fire hazard, many theaters burned as a
result of the excessive heat or sparks emitted, also the
unenclosed lamp could easily electrocute or severally
burn
technicians.
Carbon Monoxide emissions (bad for indoor use!) It
only
worked in the past because buildings were poorly
insulated and fresh air could enter. Some of today's
energy efficient buildings are almost air tight.
Flame Arc
-Same Principle like carbon Arc
-85 to 95 % carbon and 5 to 15 % Fluoride.
-Approximately eighty-five per cent, of the light in the
direct-current arc comes from the incandescent crater in
the positive carbon.
In flame arcs almost all the light comes from the flame. It
is found that by impregnating the carbons with certain
salts, the arc itself becomes luminescent due to the
vaporization of these salts and the luminescence they
attain at the high arc temperatures.
Luminous efficiency is 8 lumens /watt
• Incandescent Lamps
The incandescent light bulb, incandescent lamp or
incandescent light globe produces light by heating a
filament wire to a high temperature until it glows.

The hot filament is protected from oxidation in the air

with a glass enclosure that is filled with inert gas or
evacuated.
The incandescent lamp consists of a glass globe
completely evacuated and a fine wire known as
filament.
• Material for filament should have
i. High melting point
ii. Low vapor pressure
iii. High resistivity
iv. Low temperature coefficient
v . Mechanical strength

Carbon, Osmium, Tantalum and Tungsten material can

be used for filament
• Effect of voltage variation:
An increased voltage results in a higher operating
temperature of the filament and hence a higher
efficiency.
This is accompanied however by a decreased life of the
lamp.
• Advantages:
Operating power factor at unity
Direct operation on standard distribution voltage
Availability in various shapes and shades
Good radiation characteristics in the luminous range
No effect of surrounding air temperature
• Gas filled lamps: For higher efficiency, it is
necessary
to increase the working temperature beyond 2000 oc.
This
is possible by filling the bulb with inert gas argon with a
small percentage of nitrogen.

Presence of inert gas makes heat loss due to convection

currents.
• Halogen Lamps: Halogen lamp is a type of
incandescent lamp. It has a tungsten filament just like a
regular incandescent .

Addition of small amount of halogen vapour to the

filling
gas restores part of the evaporated tungsten vapour back
to the filament by means of chemical reaction.

Suitable for outdoor illumination of buildings, playing

fields, large gardens, fountains, car parks, air port run
ways, public halls, factories, sport halls, T studios etc..
Advantages: No blackening of lamp hence no
depreciation of lumens output.
High operating temperature with increased luminous
efficiency . (22 lumens /watt to 33 lumens /watt)
Long life (2000 hours)
Better color rendition
• Gaseous Discharge lamps: Two types
1.Those which give the light of the same color as
produced by the discharge through the gas or vapour
such as sodium vapour, mercury vapour and neon gas
lamps.
2. Those which use the phenomenon of fluorescence and
are known as fluorescent lamps. In these lamps, the
vapour produces ultra violet waves which causes
fluorescence in certain materials called as phosphor. The
inside of the fluorescent lamp is coated with phosphor
which absorbs invisible ultra violet rays and radiate visible
rays.
Unlike incandescent lamps, gas discharge lamps have no
filament and do not produce light as a result of
something solid getting hot (though heat may be a
byproduct).

Rather, the atoms or molecules of the gas inside a glass,

quartz, or translucent ceramic tube, are ionized by an
electric current through the gas or a radio frequency or
microwave field in proximity to the tube.

This results in the generation of light - usually either

visible or ultraviolet (UV).
The color depends on both the mixture of gasses or other
materials inside the tube as well as the pressure and type
and amount of the electric current or RF power.

Sodium Vapour Lamp:

Sodium Vapour Lamp lamps have a borosilicate glass gas
discharge tube (arc tube) containing solid sodium, a small
amount of neon, and argon gas in a Penning mixture to
start the gas discharge.
The discharge tube may be linear or U-
shaped.
Initially, the sodium is in the form of solid, deposited on the
sides of walls. When the switch is on, it operates as a low
pressure neon lamp with pink color. The lamp gets warmed,
sodium gets vaporized and radiated yellow light and then
after some time , about 10-15 min the ,lamp starts giving
full light.
LPS lamps have an outer glass vacuum envelope around
the inner discharge tube for thermal insulation, which
improves their efficiency.
Lamps with a permanent vacuum envelope were
developed to improve thermal insulation. Further
improvement was attained by coating the glass envelope
with an infrared reflecting layer of indium tin oxide,
The presence of neon serves to start the discharge and to
develop enough heat to vaporize sodium.

When the lamp is not in operation the sodium is

deposited on the walls of glass.

The major application of this lamp is on highways and

outdoor lighting where
color discrimination is not
required.
• Mercury vapour lamp:
A mercury-vapor lamp is a gas discharge lamp
that uses an electric arc through vaporized mercury to
produce light.
The arc discharge is generally confined to a small fused
quartz arc tube mounted within a larger borosilicate glass
bulb.
The outer bulb may be clear or coated with a phosphor; in
either case, the outer bulb provides thermal insulation,
protection from the ultraviolet radiation the light
produces, and a convenient mounting for the fused quartz
arc tube.
The mercury in the tube is a liquid at normal
temperatures. It needs to be vaporized and ionized
before
the tube will conduct electricity and the arc can start.

So, like fluorescent tubes, mercury vapor lamps require

a
starter, which is usually contained within the mercury
vapor lamp itself.

In addition to the mercury, the tube is filled with argon

gas at low pressure.
When power is applied, there is sufficient voltage to
ionize the argon and strike a small arc between the
starting electrode and the adjacent main electrode.

This starting arc discharge heats the mercury and

eventually provides enough ionized mercury to strike an
arc between the main electrodes. This process takes from
4 to 7 minutes, so mercury lamps are slow starting.

The mercury vapor lamp is a negative resistance device.

This means its resistance decreases as the current through
the tube increases.
So if the lamp is connected directly to a constant-voltage
source like the power lines, the current through it will
increase until it destroys itself.

Therefore it requires a ballast to limit the current through

it. Mercury vapor lamp ballasts are similar to the ballasts
used with fluorescent lamps.

In fact, the first British fluorescent

lamps were designed
to operate from 80-watt mercury vapor ballasts.
Mercury vapour lamps are used for industrial lighting,
railway yards, ports, work areas, shopping centers, etc…
• Mercury Iodide lamps:
This is similar to mercury vapour lamp but in addition to
mercury, a number of iodides are added which fill the gap
in the light spectrum and thus improve the color
characteristics of light.
Efficiency is 75-90 lumens/watt
Used in the fields of flood lighting, industrial lighting,
public lighting
• Neon Lamps:
Neon lamps belong to cold cathode category

The color light emitted is red. If the helium gas is used in

place of neon, pinkish white light is obtained. Helium and
neon through colored glass tubing produces a variety of
effects.

The T/F has a high leakage reactance which stabilizes the

arc. The capacitor is used for power factor improvement.
• The efficiciency of these lamps is 15-40
lumens /watt.

• These lamps are used as indicator lamps,

advertising
• it was no more energy-efficient than
conventional incandescent lighting.
• Fluorescent Tube:
It is possible to achieve quite high lighting intensities
with
out excessive temperature rise and owing to the nature
of
light sources, the danger of glare is reduced.

The efficiency is about 40 lumens/wattabout 3 times the

tungsten filament lamp.
• Construction:
It’s a low pressure mercury vapor lamp.

Tube contains a small quantity of mercury and small

quantity of argon gas at a pressure of 2.5 mm of mercury

At each end of the tube electrodes are of spiral form made

of tungsten and coated with and electron emitting material.

A choke is connected in series with the tube filament which

acts as a voltage impulse for starting and as a ballast later
when
the tube is running.
The filament is connected with the starter switch
which is a small cathode glow lamp with
bimetal strip at the electrodes.
• Advantages of fluorescent tubes
Tubes are obtained in variety of lengths and shapes
High lighting intensities without excessive temperature
rise
Danger of glare is minimized.
• Start less Fluorescent lamp circuit

• Almost instantaneous starting

• No flickering and no false starts
• Lamp life is lengthened
• Stroboscopic effect of fluorescent lamps
This is produced because of the periodic fluctuations in
the light output of a lamp caused by the cyclic
variations
of the current on A.C circuits.

This phenomenon creates multiple image appearance of

moving objects and makes the movement appear jerky.

This is more pronounced at lower frequencies.

Frequency of such flickers is twice the supply frequency
Fluorescent lamp for DC supply

When the tube works for some time, the positive end of the
tube gets blackened due to migration of ionized mercury
vapor to the negative end. To decrease this effect a change
over switch is used.
• Demerits
Low efficiency due to power loss in ballast series resistance
Increased cost of ballast resistance and reversing switch
Less life of the tube

Useful flourscent lamp life

Normal life is 7500 hrs
Active life may vary from 5000 to 10000 depending on
operating conditions
Light output is reduced by 15 to 20 % after 4000 hrs
operation
LED Lamps
Light output has reached a point where LEDs are
viable for many applications, especially colored light
applications.

An LED lamp (LED light bulb) is a solid-state lamp that

uses light-emitting diodes (LEDs) as the source of light.

Assemblies of high power light-emitting diodes can be

used to replace incandescent or fluorescent lamps
One high power LED chip used in LED lights can emit
up to 10,000 lumens for an electrical power consumption
of only 100 watts .

Efficiency of these devices continues to improve with

some chips able to emit > 100 lumens per watt.

LEDs do not emit light in all directions, and their

directional characteristics affect the design of lamps. The
efficiency of conversion from electric power to light is
generally higher than with incandescent lamps.
LED lamps offer long service life and high energy
efficiency, but initial costs are higher than those of
fluorescent and incandescent lamps.
Life cycle of LED lamps is multiple compared to
incandescent lamps, however, degradation of LED chips
reduces luminous flux over life cycle as with
conventional
lamps.
Diodes use direct current (DC) electrical power. To use
them from standard AC power they are operated with
internal or external rectifier circuits that provide a
regulated current output at low voltage.
LEDs are degraded or damaged by operating at high
temperatures, so LED lamps typically include heat
dissipation elements such as heat sinks and cooling fins.

Application:
LED lamps are used for both general and special-purpose
lighting. Where colored light is needed, LEDs naturally
emitting many colors are available, with no need for
filters. This improves the energy efficiency over a white
light source that generates all colors of light then
discards
some of the visible energy in a filter.
They contain no mercury (unlike a Compact fluorescent
lamp or CFL), that they turn on instantly, and that
lifetime
is unaffected by cycling on and off, so that they are well
suited for light fixtures where bulbs are often turned on
and off.
LED light bulbs are also mechanically robust; most other
artificial light sources are fragile.
Because of the small size of LEDs, control of the spatial
distribution of illumination is extremely flexible, and
the light output and spatial distribution of a LED array
can be controlled with no efficiency loss.
LED lamps have no glass tubes to break, and their
internal parts are rigidly supported, making them resistant
to vibration and impact.
With proper driver electronics design, an LED lamp can
be made dimmable over a wide range; there is no
minimum current needed to sustain lamp operation.

LEDs using the color-mixing principle can emit a wide

range of colors by changing the proportions of light
generated in each primary color. This allows full color
mixing in lamps with LEDs of different colors
LED emission tends to be directional (or at least
lambertian). This can be either an advantage or a
disadvantage, depending on requirements.

For applications where non-directional light is required,

either a diffuser is used, or multiple individual LED
emitters are used to emit in different directions .