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Incandescent lamps. A great success for more than 100 light years.
In 1854 the German clockmaker Johann Heinrich Goebel invented the incandescent lamp. Thomas Alva Edison took the idea and developed it further, leading to a breakthrough in 1879.
Artificial light still hung by a thread a delicate carbon thread. OSRAM replaced it by a much more stable metal filament. Since then, lamps have been continually improved and new principles of generating light have been developed. And new materials have been used. The technical innovations over the last few years have had two main objectives better economy and minimal environmental impact.
The incandescent lamp, however, is still one of the most common artificial light sources. With its warm cosy light it creates a pleasant atmosphere. Wherever this is needed the incandescent lamp is still the first choice.
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Warm, friendly and popular
The classic light bulb.
Light is produced in a light bulb when electrical current passes through a fine wire, causing it to glow. Around five percent of the electrical energy consumed is converted into light. The rest is released to the surroundings as heat.
Constantly developed and improved.
The first carbon filament lamps achieved a luminous efficacy of only 1.7 lumen per watt. Today, the figure for our standard incandescent lamps in the CLASSIC seriesis up to eight times as high. Thanks to a special krypton filling in the SUPERLUX KRYPTON lamp, the luminous efficacy here is even higher. A high-quality coating gives the lamp an elegant look without any glare.
Light and service life.
As far as the physics of the light bulb is concerned, there is a direct relationship between the light they give out and how long they last. If more power is pumped into the filament it will emit more light. However, this will considerably reduce the life of the lamp because the filamentmaterial will vaporise faster at this higher temperature, causing the filament to burn through sooner. Conversely, reducing the load on the filament in an ordinary light bulb will increase its service life.
OSRAM general lighting service (GLS) lamps are designed to achieve an average life of 1000 hours (as per standard). From the statistical point of view, this means that after 1000 hours of operation 50 percent of the lamps are still working. This applies of course only if they areoperated at rated voltage (e.g. 230 V). If the voltage is higher or lower than its rated value the life of the lamp will be shorter or longer accordingly.
Versatile: special designs.
In addition to the standard OSRAM incandescent lamps manufactured in their millions day after day throughout the world, there is a wide range of lamps in a variety of shapes and sizes for special lighting applications and special requirements.Such as BELLALUX SOFT for warm glare-free light in a variety of shades. Or SUPERLUX KRYPTON which offer increased luminous efficacy.
Daylight simulation for better quality of life.
Our researchers and developers work tirelessly to create better light for a better quality of living. Light has an effect on our bodies and on our biorhythm. Bright sunlight makes us active and cheerful, whereas the warm colours of the setting sun help us relax. Artificial light can achieve similar effects. Our new pair of incandescent lamps, ACTIVE and RELAX, shows that even 100 years after the invention of the incandescent lamp we are still coming up with innovative products in this field. The ACTIVE lamp offers natural white light similar to daylight. It is ideal for rooms where people are engaged in activities or have to concentrate. The RELAX lamp on the other hand creates a warm cosy light, just right for unwinding at the end of the day .
Lamps that needn't hide their light.
Bulbs can be designed so that they look as good as any attractive luminaire. Take, for example, BELLALUX SOFT GLOBE with its attractive large bulb, or DECOR SILVER/GOLD with its silver or gold crown reflector, or CONCENTRA SPOT reflectorlamps with optimised reflector designs for perfect directional light and sharply defined accent lighting.
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