Fluorescent-lamp formats

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For other types of lightbulb mounts and sockets, see Lightbulb socket.

Fluorescent lamps in various embodiments

Since their introduction as a commercial product in 1939, many different types of fluorescent lamp have been introduced. Systematic nomenclature identifies mass-market lamps as to overall shape, power rating, length, color, and other electrical and illuminating characteristics.

Tube designations

In the United States and Canada, lamps are typically identified by a code such as FxxTyy, where F is for fluorescent, and the first number (xx) indicates either the power in watts for bi-pin lamps, length in inches for single pin and high output lamps, or for circular bulbs the diameter of the circular bulb. The T indicates that the shape of the bulb is tubular, and the last number (yy) is the diameter in eighths of an inch (sometimes in millimeters, rounded up to the nearest millimeter). Typical diameters are T12 or T38 (1+1⁄2 in or 38 mm) for magnetic or electronic ballasts, T8 or T26 (1 in or 25 mm) for smaller and often energy-saving lamps with magnetic or electronic ballasts, and T5 or T16 (5⁄8 in or 16 mm) for very small lamps, which may even operate from a battery-powered device.

Fluorescent tube diameter designation comparison

Designation		Tube diameter		Extra
		(in)	(mm)	Socket	Notes
T2		1⁄4 approx.	7	WP4.5×8.5d	Osram's Fluorescent Miniature (FM) tubes Sylvania Luxline Slim T2 Linear
T4		1⁄2	12.7	G5 bi-pin	Slim lamps. Power ratings and lengths not standardized (and not the same) between different manufacturers
T5	T16	5⁄8	15.9	G5 bi-pin 2GX13 G10q quad-pin contact	Original 4–13 W range from 1950s or earlier. Two newer ranges high efficiency (HE) 14–35 W, and high output (HO) 24–80 W introduced in the 1990s. Circular fluorescent tubes. Thorn/General Electric 2D fluorescent lamps and other similar lamps from various manufacturers.
T6		¾	19.05	Single-pin	Single pin fluorescent lamps used in display cases.
T8	T26	1	25.4	G13 bi-pin/single-pin/recessed double contact	From the 1930s, more common format since the 1980s.
T9	T29	1+1⁄8	28.6	G10q quad-pin contact G13 bi-pin	Circular fluorescent tubes Some linear tubes
T10		1+1⁄4	31.75	G13 bi-pin G10q quad-pin contact	High-lumen retrofit lamps for 40W T12 lamps Circular 32W and 40W T10 lamps (Older version of 32W and 40W T9)
T12	T38	1+1⁄2	38.1	G13 bipin/single-pin/recessed double contact	Also from the 1930s, not as efficient as new lamps.
T17		2+1⁄8	54	G20 Mogul bi-pin	Large size for 90W T17 (preheat) and 40W T17 (instant start)
PG17		2+1⁄8	54	R17d Recessed double contact	General Electric's Power Groove tubes

For T2–T12 and T17, the number indicates the tube diameter in 1⁄8 inches, e.g. T2 → 2⁄8 in and T17 → 17⁄8 in. Whereas for T16 and T26–T38, the number indicates the approximate tube diameter in millimeters.

Reflectors

Cross section of a typical fluorescent lamp with and without a reflector

Some lamps have an internal opaque reflector. Coverage of the reflector ranges from 120° to 310° of the lamp's circumference.

Reflector lamps are used when light is only desired to be emitted in a single direction, or when an application requires the maximum amount of light. For example, these lamps can be used in tanning beds or in backlighting electronic displays. An internal reflector is more efficient than standard external reflectors. Another example is color matched aperture lights (with about 30° of opening) used in the food industry for robotic quality control inspection of cooked goods.

Aperture lamps have a clear break in the phosphor coating, typically of 30°, to concentrate light in one direction and provide higher brightness in the beam than can be achieved by uniform phosphor coatings. Aperture lamps include reflectors over the non-aperture area. Aperture lamps were commonly used in photocopiers in the 1960s and 1970s where a bank of fixed tubes was arranged to light up the image to be copied, but are rarely found nowadays. Aperture lamps can produce a concentrated beam of light suitable for edge-lit signs.

Single pin lamps

Single pin lamps (Also generically called "Slimline" in the United States) operate on an instant start ballast or, In 220-240V countries, with a series choke without a starter.

High output/very high output lamps

High-output lamps are brighter and are driven at a higher electric current, have different ends on the pins so they cannot be used in the wrong fixture. Since about the early to mid-1950s to today, General Electric developed and improved the Power Groove lamp. These lamps are recognizable by their large diameter (2+1⁄8 in or 54 mm), grooved tube shape and an R17d cap on each end.

Colors

Color is usually indicated by WW for warm white, EW for enhanced (neutral) white, CW for cool white, and D for the bluish daylight white. BL is used for ultraviolet lamps commonly used in bug zappers. BLB is used for blacklight-blue lamps employing a Wood's glass envelope to filter out most visible light, commonly used in nightclubs. Other non-standard designations apply for plant lights or grow lights.

Philips and Osram use numeric color codes for the colors. On tri-phosphor and multi-phosphor tubes, the first digit indicates the color rendering index (CRI) of the lamp. If the first digit on a lamp says 8, then the CRI of that lamp will be approximately 85. The last two digits indicate the color temperature of the lamp in kelvins (K). For example, if the last two digits on a lamp say 41, that lamp's color temperature will be 4100 K, which is a common tri-phosphor cool white fluorescent lamp.

Halophosphate tubes
Numeric color code	Alphabetic color code	Color	Approximate CRI	Color temperature (K)
29	WW	Warm white	≈52	3000
35	W	White	≈56	3500
33	CW	Cool White	≈66	4300
25	―	Neutral/Universal White	≈75	4000
54	D	Daylight	≈75	6500
Deluxe halophosphate tubes
Numeric color code	Alphabetic color code	Color	Approximate CRI	Color temperature (K)
27	―	Deluxe Extra Warm White	≈95	2700
32	WWX, SW	Deluxe Warm White	≈85	3000
34	WX	Deluxe White	≈85	3850
79	N	Natural	≈93	3600
38	CWX	Deluxe Cool White/°Kolor-rite	≈92	4000
55	DX	Northlight/Colour Matching	≈94	6500
Enhanced deluxe halophosphate tubes
Alphanumeric color code		Color	Approximate CRI	Color temperature (K)
C41		GE CW Utility	≈87	4100
C50		GE Chroma 50/Philips Colortone 50	≈91	5000
C75		GE Chroma 75/Philips Colortone 75	≈92	7500
700-series tubes (halophosphate/tri-phosphor blend)
Numeric color code	Alphanumeric color code	Color	Approximate CRI	Color temperature (K)
730	SP30/D30/TL730	Warm White	≈75	3000
735	SP35/D35/TL735	Neutral White	≈75	3500
741	SP41/D41/TL741	Cool White	≈75	4100
750	SP50/TL750	Sunlight	≈75	5000
765	SP65/TL765	Cool Daylight	≈75	6500
800-series tri-phosphor tubes
Numeric color code	Alphanumeric color code	Color	Approximate CRI	Color temperature (K)
827	SPX27	Extra Warm white	≈85	2700
830	SPX30/SPP30/CX30/D830/TL830	Warm White	≈85	3000
835	SPX35/SPP35//CX35/D835/TL835	Neutral White	≈85	3500
840	SPX40	Cool white	≈85	4000
841	SPX41/SPP41/CX41/D841/TL841	Cool White	≈85	4100
850	SPX50/SPP50/CX50/TL850	Sunlight	≈85	5000
865	SPX65/SPP65/CX65/D865/TL865	Cool Daylight	≈85	6500
880	―	Skywhite	≈85	8000
Multi-phosphor tubes
Numeric color code		Color	Approximate CRI	Color temperature (K)
927		Warm white	≈95	2700
941		Cool white	≈95	4100
950		Sunlight	≈98	5000
965		Cool daylight	≈95	6500
Special purpose tubes
Numeric code	Alphabetic Code	Fluorescent lamp type	Notes
05	―	Germicidal lamps	No phosphors used at all, using an envelope of fused quartz. In the American lamp code, the F as in FxxTyy is replaced by a G as in GxxTyy, indicating that it's a germicidal lamp.
08	BLB, BL	Black-light lamps	Both types emits UV-A radiation. BLB is a UV-A lamp made of wood's glass and are used for fluorescence effects. BL is a UV-A lamp with a regular soda lime glass, which are used to attract insects.
09	―	Sun-tanning lamps

Common tube ratings

This section lists the more common tube ratings for general lighting. Many more tube ratings exist, often country-specific. The Nominal Length may not exactly match any measured dimension of the tube. For some tube sizes, the nominal length (in feet) is the required spacing between centers of the lighting fixtures to create a continuous run, so the tubes are a little shorter than the nominal length.

Tube diameter in 1⁄8 in (3.175 mm)	Nominal length	Nominal power (W)	Lamp Code
T5	6 in (152 mm)	4	F4T5
T5	9 in (229 mm)	6	F6T5
T5	12 in (305 mm)	8	F8T5
T5	21 in (533 mm)	13	F13T5
T5/HE	22 in (560 mm)	14	F14T5
T5/HE	34 in (860 mm)	21	F21T5
T5/HE	46 in (1,200 mm)	28	F28T5
T5/HE	58 in (1,500 mm)	35	F35T5
T5/HO	22 in (560 mm)	24	F24T5/HO
T5/HO	34 in (860 mm)	39	F39T5/HO
T5/HO	46 in (1,200 mm)	54	F54T5/HO
T5/HO	58 in (1,500 mm)	80	F80T5/HO
T8	15 in (381 mm)	14	F14T8
T8	18 in (460 mm)	15	F15T8
T8	2 ft (610 mm)	17 18	F17T8 F18T8
T8	3 ft (914 mm)	25 30	F25T8 F30T8
T8	4 ft (1,219 mm)	32 36	F32T8 F36T8
T8	5 ft (1,524 mm)	40 58	F40T8 F58T8
T8	6 ft (1,829 mm)	70	F70T8
T8 single pin	6 ft (1,829 mm)	38	F72T8
T8 single pin	8 ft (2,438 mm)	59	F96T8
T8/HO	4 ft (1,219 mm)	44	F48T8/HO
T8/HO	5 ft (1,524 mm)	55	F60T8/HO
T8/HO	6 ft (1,829 mm)	65	F72T8/HO
T8/HO	8 ft (2,438 mm)	86	F96T8/HO
T12	15 in (381 mm)	14	F14T12
T12	18 in (457 mm)	15	F15T12
T12	2 ft (610 mm)	20	F20T12
T12	4 ft (1,219 mm)	40	F40T12
T12	5 ft (1,524 mm)	65 80	F65T12 F80T12
T12	6 ft (1,829 mm)	75 85	F75T12 F85T12
T12	8 ft (2,438 mm)	125	F125T12
T12 single pin	4 ft (1,219 mm)	39	F48T12
T12 single pin	6 ft (1,829 mm)	55	F72T12
T12 single pin	8 ft (2,438 mm)	75	F96T12
T12/HO	4 ft (1,219 mm)	60	F48T12/HO
T12/HO	5 ft (1,524 mm)	75	F60T12/HO
T12/HO	6 ft (1,829 mm)	85	F72T12/HO
T12/HO	8 ft (2,438 mm)	110	F96T12/HO
T12/VHO	4 ft (1,219 mm)	115	F48T12/VHO
T12/VHO	6 ft (1,829 mm)	160	F72T12/VHO
T12/VHO	8 ft (2,438 mm)	215	F96T12/VHO

European energy-saving tubes

In the 1970s, Thorn Lighting introduced an energy-saving 8 ft retrofit tube in Europe. Designed to run on the existing 125 W (240 V) series ballast but with a different gas fill and operating voltage, the tube operated at only 100 W. Increased efficiency meant that the tube produced only 9% lumen reduction for a 20% power reduction. This first energy-saving tube design remains a T12 tube even today. However, follow-on retrofit replacements for all the other original T12 tubes were T8, which helped with creating the required electrical characteristics and saving on the then new (and more expensive) polyphosphor/triphosphor coatings, and these were even more efficient. Note that because these tubes were all designed as retrofit tubes to be fitted in T12 fittings running on series ballasts on 220–240 V supplies, they could not be used in 120 V mains countries with inherently different control gear designs.

Type	Diameter (in, mm)	Nominal length (ft, m)	Nominal power (W)	Lamp Code	Notes
T8	1.0, 25	2, 0.6	18	F18T8	Retrofit replacement for 2 ft T12 20 W
T8	1.0, 25	4, 1.2	36	F36T8	Retrofit replacement for 4 ft T12 40 W
T8	1.0, 25	5, 1.5	58	F58T8	Retrofit replacement for 5 ft T12 65 W
T8	1.0, 25	6, 1.8	70	F70T8	Retrofit replacement for 6 ft T12 75 W
T12	1.5, 38	8, 2.4	100	F100T12	Retrofit replacement for 8 ft T12 125 W

Around 1980 (in the UK, at least), some new fluorescent fittings were designed to take only the newer, retrofit tubes (the lamp holders are designed not to take T12 tubes, except for 8 ft length). The earlier T12 halophosphate tubes still remained available as spares until 2012. They fit in older fittings and some modern fittings that employ twist lock lamp holders, even though the modern fittings were not electrically designed for them.

US energy-saving tubes

In the 1970s, 34-watt energy-saving F40T12 4-foot fluorescent lamps were intoroduced in the US. In the 1980's, T8 32-watt versions were introduced, but unlike the T8 tubes introduced in Europe, the T8s are not retrofits and require new matching ballasts to drive them, while some T12s can use the older ballasts. Running a T8 tube with a ballast for T12 will reduce lamp life and can increase energy consumption. Conversely, a T12 tube on a T8 ballast will usually draw too much power and so may burn out the ballast, unless it is within the range that the particular model of electronic ballast can compensate for. The tube type should always match the markings on the light fixture.

Type	Diameter (in, mm)	Nominal length (ft)	Nominal power (W)	Lamp Code	Notes
T5	0.625, 16	4	49	F49T5	Retrofit replacement for 4 ft T5HO 54 W
T8	1.0, 25	4	25	F32T8/25w	Retrofit replacement for 4 ft T8 32 W
T8	1.0, 25	4	28	F28T8	Retrofit replacement for 4 ft T8 32 W
T8	1.0, 25	4	30	F32T8/ES	Retrofit replacement for 4 ft T8 32 W
T8	1.0, 25	2	17	F17T8	Retrofit replacement for 2 ft T12 20 W
T8	1.0, 25	3	25	F25T8	Retrofit replacement for 3 ft T12 30 W
T8	1.0, 25	4	32	F32T8	Retrofit replacement for 4 ft T12 40 W
T8	1.0, 25	5	40	F40T8
T8	1.0, 25	8	59	F96T8	Retrofit replacement for 8 ft T12 75 W single pin
T12	1.5, 38	4	25	F40CW/UTSL F40SHOP	Replacement for 4 ft T12 40 W on residential grade rapid start magnetic ballast. These are F40CW lamps made with cheaper cathodes that got around the 1995 ban on regular F40CW lamps. These lamps are rated to last for 12000 hours on a residential grade ballast and only 6000 hours on a commercial grade one.
T12	1.5, 38	4	34	F34T12	Retrofit replacement for 4 ft T12 40 W
T12	1.5, 38	8	60	F96T12/ES	Retrofit replacement for 8 ft T12 75 W single pin
T12	1.5, 38	8	95	F96T12/HO/ES	Retrofit replacement for 8 ft T12 75 W high output

T5 tubes

In the 1990s, longer T5 tubes were designed in Europe (making it to North America in the 2000s), in addition to the shorter ones (mentioned above) already in use worldwide. Like the European modular furniture, display cabinets, ceiling tile grids, etc. they were designed for, these are based on multiples of the 300 mm (11.8 in) "metric foot" instead of the 12 in (305 mm) imperial foot, but are all 37 mm (1.5 in) shorter to allow space for the lampholder connections within the 300 mm modular units, and for much easier insertion into and removal from troffer lights within the grid.

Tube diameter is 5⁄8 in (15.875 mm)	Length	Nominal power (W)		Notes
		High-efficiency	High output
T5	563 mm (22.2 in)	14	24	Fits within a 0.6 m modular unit
T5	863 mm (34.0 in)	21	39	Fits within a 0.9 m modular unit
T5	1,163 mm (45.8 in)	28	54	Fits within a 1.2 m modular unit
T5	1,463 mm (57.6 in)	35	80, 49	Fits within a 1.5 m modular unit

The T5 diameter is nearly 40% smaller than T8 lamps and almost 60% smaller than T12 lamps. T5 lamps have a G5 base (bi-pin with 5 mm spacing), even for high-output (HO and VHO) tubes.

See also

• Compact fluorescent lamp
• List of light sources
• Fluorescent lamp recycling
• T5 retrofit conversion