Types and Styles of Outdoor Lamps

Although it may seem as if choosing your outdoor lamps will not be such a difficult task, beware. There are many different types of lamps available it'll make your head spin. Understanding the characteristics of a lamp will help you choose the best lamps for your outdoor needs.

Since lamps come in all shapes and sizes, where do you start? A lamp's shape and size changes to accommodate it's light distribution and it's filament design or arc-tube design.

Outdoor lamps are not all created equal. There are two basic categories of lamps to choose from, filament and discharge lamps. Filament lamps are comprised of only one category, incandescent. A easily recognizable incandescent lamp is commonly referred to as your typical light bulb.

Discharge lamps are comprised of two categories, high intensity discharge (HID) and low intensity discharge. HID lamps are commonly used for outdoor commercial lighting.

Low intensity discharge lamps consist of outdoor fluorescent lighting , cold cathode, and neon lighting.

Incandescent and HID lamps are identified by a lettering system that is followed by a number. The letters indicate the lamp style while the numbers tell you the diameter of the bulb.

Some examples of lamp styles include PAR-Parabolic aluminized reflector, R - reflector, A - arbitrary, T - tubular, G - globular, MR - mirror reflector.

The numbers to the right of the letter(s) indicates the diameter at the widest part of the lamp. It breaks down the size by eights of an inch.

For example, if you have a MR16 bulb you know that the style of bulb is an MR or mirror reflector. You also know that the 16 indicates 16 eights of an inch, so 16/8 = 2. So you know that the fixture is 2 inches in diameter.

Filament Lamps

Filaments are designated by a letter system that helps distinguish each filament type, similar to that of an incandescent lamp.

Filaments with a letter rating of C - indicates a coiled wire filament, S - a straight filament, CC - is a coiled wire that is itself wound into a larger coil.

Incandescent lamps come in many shapes and sizes allowing for a wide range of beam spreads to choose from. Because of their small filament light source, incandescent lamps have nice tight beam spread that can easily be controlled and focused on an object.

Tungsten-Halogen Filament Lamps

This process is called the tungsten-halogen cycle. It enables the filament to burn at a higher temperature resulting in a whiter light color and better efficiency than incandescent lamps.

Halogen lamps have a longer life span than incandescent lamps when operated between 90% and 100% of its rated voltage.

They are also very sensitive to shock and need to be treated with care when handled.

Commonly Used Outdoor Lamps

The MR - mirror reflector lamps are especially good at going undetected because of their compact size. These lamps contain a lamp surrounded by a miniature mirrored reflector.

Since MR lamps are tungsten-halogen lamps, they are great for lighting plants as well as most other outdoor features.

These lamps are very versatile and many outdoor lighting fixtures are available that will work with them in various styles and for many different uses.

PAR - parabolic aluminized reflector lamps were originally designed for outdoor use. They have a heat resistant glass that is made to stand up to water and temperature changes.

They come in various different sizes as well as many different voltages.

The smaller PAR 20 and PAR 30 lamps contain air holes at the base of the lamp that can trap water inside which could possible short out the lamp.

With so many lamps to choose from and the fresh new designs being invented all the time, you should never get bored when shopping for outdoor lamps. At least I won't!

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