An light bulb consists of a vacuum-drawn or glass-filled glass bulb containing a filament. When current flows through the filament, it starts to glow and emit light. There are different types of bulbs for different applications. This depends on the type of noble gas added to it. In general, we speak of 3 types of light bulbs: the ‘normal’ (krypton) light bulb, the halogen light bulb and the xenon light bulb.
- Krypton light bulb 90 to 95 percent of the electricity used by a light bulb is converted into heat. This means that only 5 to 10 percent of the energy is actually converted into light. So an incandescent light bulb is not very efficient. Light bulbs are the least energy-efficient and have an average burning time of 1,000 hours.
- Halogen light bulb The halogen light bulb is a type of incandescent lamp that produces extra light thanks to the halogen gas. It also lasts longer than a normal light bulb and the consumption for some applications is also 30% lower. Although the halogen lamp is more expensive, it distinguishes itself from other bulbs through its high light output and excellent colour rendering. Moreover, the performance is constant for almost the entire lifetime and halogen lamps are often smaller than ordinary light bulbs.
- In the case of Xenon bulbs and lights, gas is ignited. Due to gas discharge in the xenon lighting, an arc is created that has up to 3x more light output than an ordinary halogen lamp. After approximately 2,500 hours, the light output is still about 70%, which is still more than a good halogen lamp.
