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Lamps are employed in a virtually endless assortment of lighting and heating applications, from use in homes and offices to specialized scientific research. The majority of lamps are designed to house a single type of bulb, whether incandescent, halogen, fluorescent, infrared, xenon or another variety, typically within a specific power rating range.

Incandescent bulbs generate both light and heat with an electrified filament, usually made from tungsten. Originally, incandescent filaments functioned within a partial vacuum, but modern incandescent bulbs contain various inert gasses, such as nitrogen or argon, which help extend the life of the filament. A typical incandescent bulb yields a yellowish or yellowish-white light and a fair amount of heat. Due to the relatively high level of energy lost as heat, incandescent lamps have low energy efficiency; they are, however, still widely used in homes. Halogen bulbs are a specialized type of incandescent filled with a halogen gas, which allows them to function at higher operating temperatures.

Fluorescent lamps use the interaction of electricity, mercury vapor, argon gas (argon-neon is also used), and phosphor to create light. These lamps generate far less heat than incandescent bulbs and produce a bare, white light. They are also far more efficient at lighting than incandescent bulbs, as they generate only a small fraction of the heat; fluorescents can use less that 25% of the electricity of an incandescent to produce the same amount of light, and they have a far longer lifespan. However, fluorescent bulbs produce illumination through extremely fast light pulses rather than constant light, which can lead to problems in certain applications.

Neon lamps produce light by directing electricity through a bulb containing neon gas. These lamps can function at low voltages, making them ideal for a variety of uses. By using different gases in a similar bulb or by altering the color of the bulb, different colors of light can be produced.