Incandescent Lighting

Incandescent light bulbs are the oldest form of electric powered lighting. Research began in the 1800's into the use of a carbon filament lamp but research was challenging due to the short life of many of these early lamps. It wasn't until 1880 that Thomas Edison would discover that a carbonized bamboo filament could last over 1200 hours. This was the beginning of mass production for incandescent lighting fixtures and bulbs.

Through the first half of the 20th century, the incandescent bulb continued to grow in both popularity and shelf life. Scientists discovered that using tungsten filaments and an inert gas (instead of vacuum) resulted in higher lumen output and reduced blackening of the bulb.

As the 20th century progressed, incandescent lighting remained popular in residential buildings but its popularity in commercial buildings declined drastically. With energy prices rising rapidly and the commercial success of more energy efficient fluorescent lighting, incandescent lighting is merely used for decorative and accent lighting in today's commercial applications. And they are very rarely used in industrial buildings.

Below are samples of the most commonly used incandescent light bulbs:

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