Subcategories

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  LED bulbs

  LED now covers almost every cap and shape: standard A60, golf ball, candle, clear or opal filament, R50 to R80 reflectors, GU10 and MR16 spots, G4 and G9 capsules, T8 tubes.

  Two points deserve attention before buying: colour temperature — 2700 K reproduces the warm light of an incandescent, 4000 K a neutral white, 6500 K a cool white — and dimmer compatibility, which is never a given: a non-dimmable LED fitted to a dimmer will flicker or fail.

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  Compact fluorescent

  Pin-based compact fluorescent lamps still sit in countless ceiling fittings, downlights and wall lights across offices, hotels and communal areas. You recognise them by their two- or four-pin cap — G23, G24d, G24q, GX24q, 2G11, 2G7 — rather than a screw cap.

  The four main ranges are interchangeable at equal specification: OSRAM DULUX D, PHILIPS PL-C, SYLVANIA Lynx D, RADIUM Ralux Duo and GE BIAX D all name the same lamp. What matters is the pin count, the wattage and the colour (827, 830, 840, 865).

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  Fluorescent tubes

  A tube is chosen on three figures: its diameter — T8 is 26 mm, T5 only 16 mm, and the two are not interchangeable — its length, and its three-digit colour (830 = 3000 K warm, 840 = 4000 K neutral, 865 = 6500 K cool).

  Wattage almost always follows from length: 18 W for 600 mm in T8, 36 W for 1200 mm, 58 W for 1500 mm. We also stock Grolux horticultural tubes and the high-efficacy Polylux range.

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  Discharge lamps

  Discharge lamps light shops, halls, façades and sports grounds. They never strike on their own: they need a ballast and, for most types, an ignitor. Swapping a lamp for a different technology without checking the control gear is the leading cause of failure.

  The ranges answer one another across brands — PHILIPS CDM-T, OSRAM HCI-T, SYLVANIA CMI-T and GE CMH-T all name the same ceramic metal halide lamp. Wattage, cap and colour must match.

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  Incandescent

  Incandescent lamps were withdrawn from the European market in stages between 2009 and 2012. What remains here comes from old stock and from references that stayed permitted for particular uses: measuring instruments, oven lamps, safety lighting, older equipment.

  These lamps cannot be reordered. Once a reference runs out, it is gone for good — which is why each product page names, where one exists, the halogen or LED equivalent that takes over.