Any room (both domestic and public or industrial) is equipped with artificial lighting. Naturally, in order to operate the lamps, electric light bulbs are needed. In our country, for use in lighting fixtures powered by a 220V mains voltage, E27 lamps are most widely used. The consumer in the modern market is presented with a wide selection of such products. They differ both in power and price, as well as in design features and energy-saving characteristics.
What does the E27 marking mean
The international marking that manufacturers put on the packaging or glass bulb indicates that the metal base of the E27 lamp has a right-hand thread with a diameter of 27 mm. It is designed to be screwed into the socket of the lighting device. This applies to all products of this standard, regardless of variety.
Varieties of lamps
Most household lighting fixtures (such as ceiling chandeliers, sconces, wall lights, table lamps, and so on) are designed to install E27 lamps. Naturally, numerous manufacturers of these consumable electrical products produce severalvarieties of lamps of this standard:
- conventional vacuum;
- halogen;
- fluorescent:
- LED.
The last two types are classified as energy-saving lamps, as they consume significantly less power from the mains.
In order to achieve sufficient illumination of the same room, you can use E27 lamps from all of the above categories. However, their technical characteristics and price per piece will differ significantly. The average consumer, who is not particularly versed in the complex electrical terms of lighting products, is primarily interested in:
- unit price;
- continuous service life;
- power consumption;
- The final cost of operation (for example, in terms of one year), which is the sum of the price of the product itself, multiplied by the number of pieces needed for this period, and the electricity fee.
Incandescent vacuum lamps
Historically, the very first electric lighting device is a conventional e27 vacuum incandescent lamp. Structurally, it is a hard-alloy thread placed in a glass flask, which is fixed on a metal cartridge. In the air, the thread burns out almost instantly, therefore, during the manufacture, a vacuum is created in the balloon.
The bulb of such a lamp can be of three types:
- transparent;
- matte;
- with reflective coatingfor directional light distribution.
The technical characteristics of such products are very low:
- Continuous life is typically less than 1000 hours.
- Very low efficiency: only 7-9% of the energy consumed is spent on lighting, the rest is spent on the generated heat.
The main advantage of these lamps is their low price. Such products, depending on the power and design features of the flask from manufacturers such as Iskra, Lisma, TELZ or JazzWay, now cost from 7 to 16 rubles. Similar products from Philips, Cosmos or Osram will cost a little more: from 19 to 25 rubles apiece. And although many consumers already consider these classic products a relic of the past, their use is very economically justified in rooms where high light is not required or where the light is on for a short time (for example, in corridors, hallways or toilets).
For information! In order to save energy, E27 100W lamps are prohibited in Russia for production and subsequent sale.
Incandescent halogen bulbs
Initially, such products began to be produced for installation in car headlights (dipped beam and high beam). Structurally, such a lamp is very similar to a conventional (vacuum) lamp. The only difference is that the tungsten filament is placed in a small flask with a special substance - halogen (hence the name). The designers developed filaments for 220V applications and placed this small product in a normal glassbottle with standard E27 cap. This made it possible to adapt such products for use instead of conventional incandescent lamps.
In terms of consumer properties (with the same power consumption), halogen products are superior to their vacuum counterparts:
- glow twice as bright;
- 2000 hours minimum life.
Today the price of such lamps starts from 70 rubles apiece.
Energy saving fluorescent lamps
Gas-discharge light sources were initially used mainly only in office, public, warehouse and industrial premises due to the large size of both the lamps themselves and the starting chokes. However, specialists in the field of electrical engineering have managed to create special compact energy-saving fluorescent lamps with a conventional E27 base. Depending on the geometric shape of the light emitting tube filled with gas, such products are divided into:
spiral;
U-shaped;
- ring;
- with protective glass bulb.
Compared to a conventional vacuum lamp, such products have undeniable advantages:
- power consumption is five times less (assuming the same illumination);
- 10-15 times longer service life.
However, along with the undeniable economic effect (the cost of paying for electricity for lightingare significantly reduced) when using such products, it is necessary to take into account their inherent disadvantages:
- The gas filling the tubes contains mercury vapor (albeit in small quantities). Therefore, they must be handled with extreme caution.
- There are certain difficulties with the disposal of broken devices. It is strictly forbidden to simply throw them in the trash: this leads to environmental pollution. But if you act according to the rules, then you will have to pay for recycling at a specialized enterprise, and even spend your own time. Some management companies (who care not only about energy saving, but also about the comfort of residents) set aside special rooms where residents can store such lamps for free. And then they are centrally transported to recycling plants.
- Insignificant pulsation of the light flux (harmfully affecting human vision). Manufacturers smooth out this drawback by applying a special phosphor to the inner surface of the tubes.
The cost of such products today starts from 120-140 rubles apiece.
LED home appliances
The most innovative environmentally friendly light sources designed for installation in household lighting fixtures are light-emitting diode (LED) lamps designed to operate on 220V household power. Structurally, such products consist of:
- multiple LEDs (hence the name);
- built-in power supply;
- radiator for heat dissipation.
According to the external design, these devices are made:
- pear-shaped or spherical;
- with special reflectors (for example, for installation in table lamps or directional light sources).
Advantages of the E27 LED lamp:
- lifetime from 15,000 to 50,000 hours;
- energy consumption is 8-10 times less (compared to vacuum incandescent lamp);
- absolutely safe to use;
- does not need to be disposed of at special facilities.
The main disadvantage of such products is the limited angle of light propagation - no more than 280⁰ (due to design features). Although it can be considered very conditional.
The price of lamps with E27 base until recently was quite high. However, the rapid development of SMD technologies has allowed developers to reduce the cost of such devices and make them quite economically competitive with their luminescent counterparts. Numerous Chinese manufacturers offer LED lamps at prices ranging from 150-180 rubles apiece. The cost from well-known and time-tested brands (for example, LG or Verbatim) is much higher. However, the guaranteed period of continuous operation will be much longer.
In conclusion
A wide variety of E27 lamps on sale today sometimes makes it difficult for the consumer to make the final choice. It all depends on personal preference. If you are not annoyed by the need to practice quite oftenreplacing electrical elements in lighting fixtures and spending extra money on paying for electricity, you can use ordinary vacuum "monsters". By installing LED lamps (for example, in a chandelier), from a proven and well-established manufacturer, you will forget about the ladder for at least 12-17 years.
