There are many different types of artificial lights, all of which have different applications and uses. Types of lighting include:
Which type is best depends on the application. See the chart below for a comparison of lighting types.
| Lighting Type | Efficacy (lumens/watt) |
Lifetime (hours) |
Color Rendition Index (CRI) |
Color Temperature (K) |
Indoors/Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fluorescent | |||||
| Straight Tube | 30–110 | 7000–24,000 | 50–90 (fair to good) | 2700–6500 (warm to cold) | Indoors/outdoors |
| Compact Fluorescent | 50–70 | 10,000 | 65–88 (good) | 2700–6500 (warm to cold) | Indoors/outdoors |
| Circline | 40–50 | 12,000 | Indoors | ||
| High-Intensity Discharge | |||||
| Mercury Vapor | 25–60 | 16,000–24,000 | 50 (poor to fair) | 3,200–7,000 (warm to cold) | Outdoors |
| Metal Halide | 70–115 | 5,000–20,000 | 70 (fair) | 3,700 (cold) | Indoors/outdoors |
| High-Pressure Sodium | 50–140 | 16,000–24,000 | 25 (poor) | 2,100 (warm) | Outdoors |
| Incandescent | |||||
| Standard "A" | 10–17 | 750–2,500 | 98–100 (excellent) | 2,700–2,800 (warm) | Indoors/outdoors |
| Energy-Saving Incandescent (or Halogen) | 12–22 | 1,000–4,000 | 98–100 (excellent) | 2,900–3,200 (warm to neutral) | Indoors/outdoors |
| Reflector | 12–19 | 2,000–3,000 | 98–100 (excellent) | 2,800 (warm) | Indoors/outdoors |
| Light-Emitting Diodes | |||||
| Cool White LEDs | 60–92 | 25,000–50,000 | 70–90 (fair to good) | 5000 (cold) | Indoors/ outdoors |
| Warm White LEDs | 27–54 | 25,000–50,000 | 70–90 (fair to good) | 3300 (neutral) | Indoors/ outdoors |
| Low-Pressure Sodium | 60–150 | 12,000–18,000 | -44 (very poor) | Outdoors | |