When you want to purchase light bulbs it may be confusing which type is the best for your needs. The vendors sometimes do not give you enough information to enable you make the right decision. The right bulb to choose is dependent on the purpose and the location to be fitted. To break it down, there are lighting solutions for indoor and outdoor purposes. The most frequent reason why people purchase light bulbs is because they need to replace indoor bulbs which have stopped working. Looking at indoor bulbs, there are several types in the market. The traditional incandescent light bulb with a tungsten filament has been in use for a long time. Recently it has been replaced with cheaper and more efficient bulbs such as fluorescent lamps, cold cathode bulbs, halogen bulbs, and LED bulbs. Of these, the cold cathode bulbs have been the most advocated internationally for their low electric power consumption. These bulbs use the same technology as the famous neon lights used for outdoor advertising signs. They have been modified to fit in normal indoor sockets by using the gu24 adapter. The gu24 adapter is a very small gadget that allows easy plugging of cold cathode bulbs. Normally the buyer can purchase light bulbs which already have gu24 adapter but may purchase it separately in order to save costs in the next replacement.
Apart from lower power consumption cold cathode bulbs last much longer than incandescent bulbs which compensates for their initial cost. They do not emit much heat like their predecessors hence their name. Other more efficient bulbs used indoors are the halogen bulbs which are used for spot lighting applications like reading or illuminating a room's centerpieces. They require a halogen transformer because they are adapted from car headlight technology which uses a different power source. They produce a lovely light but they require special covers because they emit heat at very high temperatures. The halogen transformer converts the normal ac current in a room to direct current of 12 volts or 24 volts. A home should therefore have several halogens lamps for every halogen transformer for cost effectiveness. More recently, halogen lighting has been used with power sourced from solar panels thus eliminating the need for halogen transformers altogether.
When looking to purchase light bulbs for outdoor purposes, the best choice is the hps light bulb. It stands for high pressure sodium light bulb which is commonly used for premises security lighting. The hps light bulb produces very bright light and does not distort the color of the objects it illuminates. For a longer range of lighting, metal halide floodlights have been in use in many arenas and theaters. Metal halide floodlights are now gradually being replaced by LED lighting systems that consume less power, take up less space and produce less heat.
LED bulbs can be used for both indoor and outdoor lighting, they are dimmable to any extent without damage and can be easily programmed to change light or to only light at certain instances. LED bulbs do not however produce a bright enough light as hps light bulbs for outdoor purposes or cold cathode bulbs for use indoors. Those are the facts to consider when you want to purchase light bulbs.