30 | Illumination (Lighting)

About Illumination

Category A | Non discharge lamps

A | 1. Filament Lamp

A | 2. Incandescent Lamp

A | 3. Halogen Lamp

A | 4. Led Lamp

Category B | Discharge lamps

Difference of lamp pressure

Type of gas filled lamp

B | 1. Fluorescent Lamp

B | 2 . Compact Florescent Lamp

B | 3 Mercury vapor lamps

B | 4. Sodium Lamps

B | 5. Metal Halide Lamp

Advantages of Metal Halide Lamps

Disadvantages of Metal Halide Lamps

About Illumination

Illumination is define as the action of supplying or brightening with light or the resulting state. Every residential, shop houses unit, building and factories need this illumination for the purpose of reading, writing, assembling and working.

There are two types of lighting category type:

Natural light - light which produce by sunlight
Artificial light - man-made lighting

Category A | Non discharge lamps

These are types of lamp which inside the lamp tube contain NO GAS or vacuum (no air).

Filament lamp
Incandescent lamp
Halogen lamp
LED lamp, LED Filament Bulb

A | 1. Filament Lamp

Filament lamp were the first creations of artificial lighting. When electricity flows through the filament wire, the lamp gives off light and gets hot in the usual way. The light output is known as warm light effects.

Basic construction of a filament lamp:

filament wire - tungsten wire
glass shape bulb - vacuum (no air)
base (screw or pin type)

Life span of this lamp: < 500 hours

Color of the lamp: Warm light yellow with little orange

Applications of this lamp: warm up rooms , interior lighting effect

Filament lamp

(pin type)

Lamp damage/blown easily due to the following causes:

air goes into the vacuum glass bulb.
improper handling the bulb during fixing.
poor production
vibration impact on bulb during handling

A | 2. Incandescent Lamp

This is an electric light with a wire filament heated to such a high temperature that it glows with visible light (incandescence). The filament is protected from oxidation with a glass or fused quartz bulb that is filled with inert gas.

Some model have coated with white color on the inner surface of the bulb. The white material is known as phosphor coating. The light output is known as day light effects.

Life span of this lamp: 500 ~ 1000 hours

Color of the lamp: Warm light

Lamp damage/blown easily due to the following causes:

air goes into the vacuum glass.
improper handling the bulb during fixing.

Incandescent lamp (Screw type)

This bulbs are filled with an inert gas to reduce evaporation of the filament and prevent its oxidation.

A | 3. Halogen Lamp

The halogen is replacement for filament lamp and incandescent lamp where the improvements construction of this lamp reduces uneven evaporation of the filament and eliminates darkening of the envelope. The lamp were filled with a halogen gas at low pressure, rather than an inert gas. In a halogen lamp, filament evaporation is slowed by a chemical process that redeposits metal onto the filament, thereby extending its life.

Previously, the halogen lamp requires a step down transformer to lower the voltage input for the lamp. The transformer secondary voltage is between 5 to 12 volts depending on type, sizes and shape of the bulb. This type of lamp are commonly use as decorative light or spot light in many shelves and cabinets for good view of light for presentation.

The light output of this lamp is warm light effects. interior lighting effect.

Life span of this lamp: 500 ~ 1000 hours

Color of the lamp: Warm light

Halogen lamp (decorative lighting for shelves, glass cabinet and wardrobe)

Range of lamp rating:

Detail construction of tungsten halogen lamp.

Figure above showing different shapes and size of halogen lamp available in the market today.

Modern halogen lamp are now does not required a transformer to lower down the voltage. This because an internal resistor is add in the lamp design, thus the current is limited through the lamp bulb. The voltage are 220~240 volts AC.

Halogen lamp bulb shape.

A | 4. Led Lamp

LED is known as light emitting diode, basically is a diode which requires a small voltage of 0.7 volts to lit up. LED lights are up to 80% more efficient than traditional lighting such as fluorescent and incandescent lights. 95% of the energy in LEDs is converted into light and only 5% is wasted as heat. Modern application of this lamp is vase from small to large scale of lighting application. LED lamp require much less wattage compare to CFL or Incandescent light bulbs, which is why LEDs are more energy-efficient and longer lasting.

Ceiling mounted 6" or 8" Led lamp.

Warm white LED Lamps have a color temperature between 2700-3500K. (warm light). Lamps rated between 5000K and 6000K are viewed as white, while lamps above 6000K tend to have a blue cast.

New LED filament light bulb

This is the modern type of LED lamp which is designed to resemble a traditional incandescent light bulb with visible filaments for aesthetic and light distribution purposes. This new type of bulb having high efficiency of light emitting diodes . This were produced by Ushio Lighting in 2008, the intention to mimic the appearance of a standard filament bulb.

Warning______________________________

Some LED lamb product are Hazard because of blue light. This ray is invisible to your vision but it can cause serious damage to your eyes. Avoid directly looking into the lamp. When your eyes feels tired or discomfort immediately switch OFF this lamp.

Led lamp

Category B | Discharge lamps

A lamp in which the light is produced by a discharge tube. Gas discharge lamps are a family of artificial light sources (or lamps). These lamps produce light by sending electricity through an ionized gas. Most of these lamps use a noble gas, or a combination of noble gases, but they often contain other materials, such as mercury, sodium or metal halides. Electric discharge lamp, also called Vapour Lamp, lighting device consisting of a transparent container within which a gas is energized by an applied voltage and thereby made to glow.

Gas-discharge lamps are a family of artificial light sources that generate light by sending an electrical discharge through an ionized gas. In operation the gas is ionized, and free electrons, accelerated by the electrical field in the tube, collide with gas and metal atoms. Discharge lamp are also known as High-intensity discharge (HID)

A high-intensity discharge (HID) lamp is a type of electrical lamp which produces light by means of an electric arc between tungsten electrodes housed inside a translucent or transparent fused quartz or fused alumina arc tube. These HID lamps are similar to fluorescents in that an arc is generated between two electrodes. The arc in an HID source is shorter, yet it generates much more light, heat, and pressure within the arc tube.

The common HID light types are:

Mercury vapor lamps
High pressure sodium vapor lamps
Metal halide lamps

Difference of lamp pressure

Low-pressure lamps (LP) have working pressure much less than atmospheric pressure.
High-pressure lamps (HP) have a discharge that takes place in gas under slightly less to greater than atmospheric pressure.

Type of gas filled lamp

Vacuum, used in small lamps. Provides best thermal insulation of the filament but does not protect against its evaporation. Used also in larger lamps where the outer bulb surface temperature has to be limited.
An inert gas is a gas that is generally non-reactive with other substances. The term 'inert' means non-reactive.
Argon (93%) and nitrogen (7%), where argon is used for its inertness, low thermal conductivity and low cost, and the nitrogen is added to increase the breakdown voltage and prevent arcing between parts of the filament[87]
Nitrogen, used in some higher-power lamps, e.g. projection lamps, and where higher breakdown voltage is needed due to proximity of filament parts or lead-in wires
Krypton, which is more advantageous than argon due to its higher atomic weight and lower thermal conductivity (which also allows use of smaller bulbs), but its use is hindered by much higher cost, confining it mostly to smaller-size bulbs.
Krypton mixed with xenon, where xenon improves the gas properties further due to its higher atomic weight. Its use is however limited by its very high cost. The improvements by using xenon are modest in comparison to its cost.
Hydrogen, in special flashing lamps where rapid filament cooling is required; its high thermal conductivity.

These are types of lamp which inside the lamp tube contain small amount of gas.

1. Florescent

2. Compact Florescent Lamp (CFL)

3. Mercury (Low/High Pressure)

4. Sodium (Low/High Pressure)

5. Metal Halite

B | 1. Fluorescent Lamp

Sometime it is call as fluorescent lamp, or fluorescent tube, this lamp is a discharge lamp which consist mercury-vapor gas-discharge lamp that uses fluorescence to produce visible light. An electric current in the gas excites mercury vapor, which produces short-wave ultraviolet light that then causes a phosphor coating on the inside of the lamp to glow.

Component of typical florescent lamp. :

ballast - This is an inductive device, this device improve the electron flow through the lamp tube.
starter - increase voltage during start ups to light up the lamp (S1 ranged 5~10W for 2 feet lamp) while (S2 ranged 10~40W for 4 feet lamp). Internal of the starters commonly an small inductive coil and a capacitor together.
florescent tube - consist of phosphor coated inside inner tube with 2 electrodes at the ends, a small mercury and lamp tube filled with inert gas.
lamp fitting - metal body of the lamp.

Florescent lamp range : 5W, 10W,18W, 36W, 40W

Color of the lamp tube: Daylight or Warm Light

Florescent Lamp fitting with tube

Florescent tube (11w) pin type commonly decorative.

Starter consists of inductive and capacitive device.

Ballast or chock.

Basic component and wiring diagram of a florescent lamp .For Reference only

B | 2 . Compact Florescent Lamp

A compact fluorescent lamp (CFL), also called compact fluorescent light, also known as an energy-saving light.

CFLs have two main components:

a magnetic or electronic ballast
a gas-filled tube (also called bulb or burner).

The replacement of magnetic ballasts with electronic ballasts has removed most of the flickering and slow starting traditionally associated with fluorescent lighting, and has allowed the development of smaller lamps directly interchangeable with more sizes of incandescent light bulb. Electronic ballasts contain a small circuit board with a bridge rectifier, a filter capacitor and usually two switching transistors, which are often insulated-gate bipolar transistors.

Life span of this lamp: 2000 ~ 15,000 hours (estimated) Color of the lamp: Daylight

For Reference only

Figure above showing a compact florescent lamp construction.

For Reference only

Diagram above showing the basic circuitry of compact florescent lamp.

Table above shows type of light energy and the temperature.

Table above showing the electrical power equivalents between various types of lamp.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compact_fluorescent_lamp

B | 3 Mercury vapor lamps

Mercury vapor lamps consist of an inner arc discharge tube constructed of quartz surrounded by an outer hard borosilicate glass envelope. Shortwave UV, a result of the decay of mercury atom electrons from an excited to a stable state, is readily transmitted through the inner quartz tube but is virtually blocked by the outer glass envelope during normal operation.

Modern mercury-vapor lamps have a little argon gas to help the lamp start sooner until the mercury on the sides of the lamp can heat up and become vaporized.

Life span of this lamp: 24,000 hours or greater (estimated)

Color of the lamp: Daylight

Applications of mercury vapor lamps:

indoor production area of factories
outdoor areas as street lighting or perimeter lights

Lamp rating available low pressure (LP): 125W, 150W, 200W

Lamp rating high pressure (HP): 200W, 250W, 400W, 500W

Picture above showing a low pressure mercury lamp. 175W For Reference only

Warning/Danger:

Inhaling mercury vapor or small particles of mercury or its compounds can be harmful to lungs, kidneys and the nervous system.

For Reference only

Mercury Lamp (Flood light)

For Reference only

B | 4. Sodium Lamps

Low Pressure Sodium (LPS) means low voltage lamps, typically this lighting operates on 240 volts AC. LPS lamps are similar to fluorescent lamps in that they are a low-intensity light source.

Typical range : 100W, 125W, 150W, 175W, 200W

Component inside this LPS lamp:

Ballast or choke
ignitor (or starter)
capacitor (improve power factor)
lamp holder
Sodium tube.

General applications of this lamp are street lighting, building spotlights and perimeter lighting (for industry)

Color of lamps : yellow to orange, white (daylight)

Start up voltage about 2.2~2.6 kV

The life span of LPS is ranging: 15,000 to 18,000 hours

High-Pressure Sodium (HPS) Lamp

The range of HP sodium cover range from : 200W, 250W, 400W, 500W, 1000W.

This HP has a higher efficacy they do not contain starting electrodes and the ballast circuit includes a high-voltage electronic starter (ignitor).

The lamp is filled xenon and a sodium-mercury gas mixture. The startup voltage to excites the lamp can goes up from 4.4 kV or greater. The life span of HPS is more than 20,000 hours

Light effects : golden to white light