AgEnergy
Your resource site for information on energy conservation in agricultural enterprises.
Lamp Types
There are three main families of lighting technologies: incandescent, fluorescent and high intensity discharge lamps.
Click on a lamp type to learn more.
| Comparison of Lamp Types (data adapted from manufacturer's literature) | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lamp Type | Lumens/watt@mean lumens | Average Life (hrs) | Color | CRI | CCT (K) | Starting Temp (F) | Instant On | Wattage Range |
| Incandescent | 7-20 | 1000 | White | 100 | 2800 | >-40°F | Yes | 25-200 |
| Halogen | 12-21 | 2000-6000 | White | 100 | 3000 | >-40°F | Yes | 45-500 |
| Mercury Vapor | 26-39 | 24,000 | Bluish | 15-50 | 3800-5700 | -22°F | No | 50-1000 |
| Compact Fluorescent | 45-55 | 6000-10,000 | White | 82 | 2700 | 32°F or 0°F | Yes* | 14-29 |
| Metal Halide | 41-79 | 10,000-20,000 | Bluish | 65-70 | 3000-4300 | -22°F | No | 15-1000 |
| Pulse-Start Metal Halide | 60-74 | 15,000-30,000 | Bluish | 62-75 | 3200-4000 | -40°F | No | 100-750 |
| T-12 Fluorescent | 62-80 | 9000-12,000 | White | 52-90 | 3000-5000 | 50°F | Yes | 30-75 |
| T-12 High-Output Fluorescent | 30-70 | 9000-12,000 | White | 52-90 | 3000-5000 | -20°F | Yes | 25-110 |
| T-8 High-Output Fluorescent | 81 | 18,000 | White | 75 | 3000-5000 | -20°F | Yes | 86 |
| High Pressure Sodium | 66-97 | 24,000 | Yellow-orange | 22-70 | 1900-2100 | -40°F | No | 35-1000 |
| T-8 Fluorescent | 76-100 | 15,000-20,000 | White | 60-86 | 3000-5000 | 50°F or 0°F | Yes | 25-59 |
| *requires warm-up to reach full output | ||||||||
If you have information you think would be useful to this site please contact
Scott Sanford, Senior Outreach Specialist, University of Wisconsin, sasanford@wisc.edu.