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Home> Help> Lighting Guides> Light Bulbs Explained

Light Bulbs Explained

Replacing light bulbs can be a confusing affair, so we've tried to lay out a guide to light bulbs below, that we hope will make making your decision just a little easier.

Base styles

The first thing to work out is the easy bit. There are two types of base available, a screw fix or a bayonet fix. The slight confusion is the codes.

B = Bayonet

E = (Edison) Screw

Base sizes

There are three sizes (that we stock)

Screw:

E14 - narrow screw fix (also known as SES/small Edison screw)

E27 - wider screw fix

Bayonet:

B22 - most people are familiar with this. The 'traditional' bulb.

Halogen lamps

Halogen spotlights have one style, but two bases:

GU10 - two pin, twists into position. Normally used in a 240v mans lamp.

MR16 - two pin push fitting. Low voltage lamp used in low voltage lighting.

Colour of Bulbs

Unlike traditional incandescent lights, you can get Led bulbs in several variations.

Warm white: 2700 lumens

Cool white: 4100 lumens

Daylight: 6400 lumens

Bulb styles

When it comes to styles it is normally more down to personal preference than anything else, but the following styles are currently available:

Golf ball style; available as 3w - equivalent to 40W incandescent bulb

Globe bulb; available as 3w - equivalent to 55w

Normal bulb; available as 8w - equivalent to 100w

Candle lamp; 3w - equivalent to 35w or 40w

Flame tipped candle lamp; 3w - equivalent to 35w or 40w

Reflector lamps; 3.5w - equivalent to 50w

Spotlight/Downlights; various wattage

Wattage equivalent

These are just an equivalent comparison to traditional bulbs. The real way of working out how bright they are is using the lumens to compare; the more lumens, the brighter it is. To make it easier for you we have included an equivalent wattage on our site.

Clear or Opal

Some of our bulbs are available as both opal and clear bulbs (currently our candle and flame tipped candle lamps).

Reflector bulbs

While the have standard bases, so could be used in most light fittings they are more often used in old spotlights.

Hopefully this has answered most of the questions you have, but if not please get in touch. Our team will happily help with any other queries you have.

Call us on 02920 004887, tweet us @socketstore or message us on Facebook.com/socketstore