You are considering to update your home lighting fixtures. They come in many styles, colors, designs and layouts. You looked at the vintage, contemporary, traditional or modern lighting fixtures and you kind of made up your mind. However you learned that they come with either incandescent, halogen, fluorescent, or LED-based light bulbs or tubes and are not sure which one you should go with.

Here are the typical light bulbs and tubes used in home fixtures:

1. Incandescent

Incandescent lamps light up instantly and operate without a ballast . They provide a warm light and excellent color rendering. However, incandescent lamps have a low efficacy compared to other lighting options (10–17 lumens per watt) and a short average operating life (750–2500 hours). By using a dimmer the lifespan of an incandescent bulb can be significantly increased.

2. Halogen

It has similar light output to a regular incandescent bulb while using up to 40 percent less power. The light bulb is filled with an inert gas from the halogen’s family. Although halogen lamps are more expensive to buy, they last two to four times longer than conventional incandescent bulbs. Halogen light bulbs give off a whiter light than conventional incandescent bulbs and also provide excellent colour rendering.

3. Fluorescent

Fluorescent tubes come at a higher purchase price, they use 60 to 80 percent less energy and last 10 to 20 times longer than incandescent bulbs. Fluorescents work with conventional light switches but they require special dimmer. Fluorescent light tubes do not render colors as well as the standard incandescent or halogen light bulbs although some better designed and optimized do. Fluorescent lights come in a number of shapes and forms: Compact Fluorescent Lamps, Linear Fluorescent Fixtures, and Circular Fluorescents and U-Shaped Fluorescents.

4. LED-based

LEDs offer 90 percent efficiency, compared with 5 percent for traditional lighting sources. Other advantages offered by LED-base lights are: long life, virtually no heat dissipation, high resilience to shock and vibration, compact size and light weight.

5. Full-spectrum

There are two type of full-spectrum lights, neodymium incandescent bulbs and full spectrum light fluorescent tubes. Full spectrum lights shine a gentler, more pleasant and natural type of light. They help you to revitalize your general health, reduce stress, increase your productivity and improve your vision. The spectrum of their light resembles the spectrum of the sun light. Some of them add green, blue or violet wavelengths to promote wellness and help you see better, feel better and have a better life.

6. Battery Operated

This type of lights come in a number of forms and shapes. Typically they are attractively designed and can be free standing or wall mounted. In the auto mode the light will automatically turn off after 1-2 minutes to preserve the power of the battery.

7. Metal Halide

Metal halide light bulbs are typically used for utility lights around the house. Some utility lights are very powerful and can light few acres. Most of them are portable enough to fit in the trunk of a car. Typically a metal halide lamp is rated for 10,000 hours.