Lighting equipment and its elements are always presented in a wide range. For buyers, not only their technical parameters are important, but also the design elements. The variety of fixtures and bulbs is sometimes difficult to understand. And a particularly important point is the replacement of lamps in luminaires with more modern ones, which differ not only in better light characteristics, but also in energy efficiency.
Types of socles
For any lamp, the type of cap is one of the main characteristics. The device must match the lamp according to the type of cap, otherwise it will not be possible to install it.
By design, the socles are divided into groups. The main ones are screw and pin.
Screw caps are threaded for mounting in the cartridge and are indicated by the letter "E" and numbers corresponding to the diameter of the cap in millimeters.
In the lamp socket, a lamp with a pin type socket is attached with one, two or four pins. Such socles are indicated by the letter G and the numbers corresponding to the distance between the pins (pins). The type of lamp base G9 means that the distance between the pins is 9 mm.
G-caps are installed to save space in compact lamps, for example, in fluorescent or halogen ones.
Main pin bases: G5, G9, 2G10, 2G11 and G23.
Bulb caps
With helical sockets, classic incandescent, halogen, fluorescent, gas-discharge, LED lamps are produced. However, it is much easier to list which types are available only with thread. The ancestor of all electric light sources, Ilyich’s bulb, the good old incandescent lamp, is the only one that doesn’t have a pin base, perhaps because there’s no reason for it.
Incandescent and more economical halogen differ only in the filling of the bulb. Inert gases with an admixture of bromine or iodine can increase the temperature of the filament, therefore the light of such devices is brighter with smaller bulb sizes. And since this reduces the evaporation of tungsten, from which the thread is made, the life of the light source is several times higher than that of a conventional Ilyich bulb.
Devices with pin caps
Pin (or pin) caps are installed on fluorescent, including linear, halogen capsule-type, on energy-saving and LED lamps.
The most popular are lamps with a base G4. With the designation G9, the cap is found a little less.
The principle of operation of a fluorescent lamp is based on the burning of mercury vapor, and this is its main drawback, which has passed by inheritance to economical energy-saving lamps. The so-called housekeepers who revolutionized lighting engineering also have other shortcomings inherent in their ancestors. They flicker if the backlight indicator is used in the switch, they do not work with dimmers (dimmers), the start has a certain length in time, there is some low-frequency hum during operation, their light hurts the eyes.
The most promising for today are LED lamps, they have a LED prefix. Their high technical specifications pay off minor flaws that promise to disappear over time. These light sources have power limitations, but in domestic lighting they are used more often and gradually displace their counterparts in decorative and main lighting of residential premises.
Lamps with socket G9
Initially, these socles were developed specifically for high-voltage halogen devices that operated from a conventional household electrical network with a voltage of 220 V, and small metal halide lamps.
In the G9 lamp, the base is equipped with two pins at a distance of 9 mm, and the lampholder is a socket with holes at the same distance, so installing the lamp in the lamp looks like a normal plug-socket connection.
But halogens are a thing of the past, but lamps, especially decorative interior lighting, remain. Therefore, today it is possible to purchase energy-saving fluorescent and LED lamps with such a base.
They are connected to the household power supply without adapters and are available in the power range from 20 to 75 watts.
Halogen lamps with G9 socket
Halogen directional light with reflectors and capsule are produced with pin caps.
Halogen lamps, perhaps the most compact, have good light transmission, long life, powerful, and most importantly, stable luminous flux over the entire life cycle. They can be installed in luminaires with a dimmer, that is, to regulate the power of the light flux.
Until recently, if a recessed spotlight was installed in a plasterboard ceiling, then the bulb was necessarily a halogen one. The G9 cap allows you to insert a light bulb quickly and easily. The only caveat - you need to perform this operation with gloves.
A bulb in halogen lamps is made with a special reflector that redistributes the light flux in space.
The most popular is the size of MR16 halogen lamps with a bulb diameter of 50 mm.
In a MR16 halogen, a G9 base of this size is made specifically so that it cannot be confused with low voltage lamps.
Capsule, they are also called finger-type, halogen lamps of mains voltage are mainly produced with a cap G9. They are used in open luminaires where there are no safety glasses.
This is usually the decorative lighting of furniture and ceiling. Such lamp in the form of a capsule with conclusions the dimensions are quite miniature.
Energy-saving lamps with G9 socket
Luminescent or energy-saving devices can be produced with two- and four-pin base. For their work, auxiliary devices are needed, the so-called ballasts (ballasts) or electronic ballasts (electronic ballasts).
A starter and a capacitor are built into the base of the two-pin lamp. The latter suppresses interference, and in order to turn it on, you need a choke.
Has a G9 cap energy-saving lamp companies OSRAM and ECOLA. Compared to halogen lamps, it is large enough: its diameter is 30 mm, and the length, depending on the power, is 80-100 mm.
The power of an energy-saving lamp can vary from 5 to 11 W, and the temperature of the light flux - from 2500 to 4100K.
Energy-saving lamps with pin caps did not have time to get accustomed, they looked very unaesthetically sticking out of small lamps. They were replaced by LED lamps.
LED Devices with G9 Base
If one or two halogen lamps are installed in the luminaire, replacing them with LEDs will not bring tangible savings, but if there are more than a dozen such sources, then the game is worth the candle.
Capsule halogen lamps can be replaced with Standard JCD 1.2 W G9 6500K LEDs with cool bluish light. Miniature LED bulbs are the best suited for illuminating art objects, furniture, shelves and other interior elements.
Infrequently, there are chandeliers for the main lighting, in which the G9 base is used. LED lighting today is represented by pendant and tension systems, table lamps and sconces.
Advantages and disadvantages of LED lamps with G9 socket
The base is primarily convenient to use - anyone can plug a plug into a power outlet, and even gloves are not needed.
Secondly, such lamps do not contain mercury, that is, disposal does not cause problems.
In addition, the LEDs are protected from moisture, do not flicker with voltage drops, do not heat up, which means they can not explode, do not break into small fragments, for example, when dropped, do not make noise and can turn on and off an unlimited number of times.
You should not hope, at least for now, that the LED lights with the G9 pin base are ideal. They are not without flaws, perhaps, against the background of other light sources, very insignificant.
Unfortunately, in Russian networks, their service life is much lower than that declared by the manufacturers. It is far from always possible to replace a halogen lamp with a LED in a chandelier or sconce, firstly, due to the design of the lamp itself. Secondly, due to the directional glow of the LED lamp, the device illuminates the space and looks different after its installation. Thirdly, the pins of these light sources have a different shape: cylindrical and petal, respectively.
Lamps in which you need to install lamps with a G9 cap are not the most common, but they are found quite often, especially chandeliers and sconces with fashionable once-halogen lamps designed for a voltage of 220 V. And it is not always clear whether to change the lamps, and with them favorite interior, or confine yourself to replacing light bulbs with more modern ones.