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9.1 Lamps and Fixtures, Incandescent

This part of the Energy Efficiency Manual shows how to lower the cost of lighting by improving incandescent lamps and fixtures.

Incandescent lamps are much less efficient than fluorescent or HID lamps, and they suffer from short service life. Therefore, one of the most important energy conservation measures for incandescent light is to replace it with a more efficient type of light. Especially for retrofit applications, substituting compact fluorescent lamps or screw-in fluorescent fixtures is a quick way to make the conversion. You will learn to select the best replacements for incandescent exit signs, including fluorescent and LED exit signs.

Still, incandescent lighting retains important advantages that will continue to make it popular, including good color rendering and the low cost of lamps and fixtures. The small filaments of incandescent lamps allow tight focusing. Incandescent lamps and fixtures are simple, requiring none of the cumbersome accessories of fluorescent and HID lights. It is free of the noise, electromagnetic interference, low power factor, and harmonic distortion of other types of lighting.

Therefore, you are offered a complete menu of improvements for incandescent lighting. You will learn where to consider high-efficiency incandescent lamps, including tungsten halogen lamps and lamps filled with krypton gas. The light distribution pattern of incandescent lamps is a major factor in energy efficiency, and here you will learn how to select the best options, including floodlamps, PAR lamps, elliptical focus lamps, and many other types.

The type of light fixture or luminaire has a major effect on efficiency. Good fixtures absorb the minimum amount of light and they direct the light where it is needed. You will learn to select the most efficient types of fixtures and lamp shades, and even to improve existing fixtures.

Incandescent lamps are easily adaptable to dimmers, although dimming systems are a difficult energy conservation challenge. You will learn where to apply dimmers and where to avoid them, and the types of lamps with which they are compatible.