Socket extenders and reducers

Light bulb socket extensions in general.
At BuyLightFixtures.com, we always want you to get the best possible quality lighting products available. We do that not only with our light fixtures but also with the accessories and parts that you need to repair existing ones. Light bulb socket extensions include all the different variations there are available from medium to medium, mogul to mogul and various E12 sockets. These are merely a way to make the connection safely to an electrical current that will supply any light sources. There are so many different ways to connect a lamp bulb, and the lamp base has everything to do with the connection. The bulb adapter sockets are made for certain types of lighting, and all of these started somewhere when the original Edison light bulb was created. The most popular one is the E26 Edison screw base which has been used for incandescent lighting all the way up everything that you see today. It’s the easiest way to implement any new lighting because the base is so pervasive everywhere. People often refer to this as a regular household light bulb with a medium base, and that’s a general way people can talk about it. As long as you have a screw-in type of bulb that operates on 120 volts, you can put in a bulb almost anywhere. There are some things to keep it into consideration though. If you have anything that’s operating on a ballast whether the lamp screws in or not, you need to be aware that not everything is used in that socket. There is a simple common sense rule, but one that needs to be stated on occasion as some people think that when they see a standard socket, that they could screw almost anything into it. Socket extensions allow you to bring the lamp out of a deeper recess of the light fixture. It’s to make it more prominent and to improve the photometric capability of that light fixture in many cases. One of the things you want to make sure is that the socket extension that you use is rated for the type of lamp you have. One of the things you should never use is an HID socket extension, they are not available, and you can’t cheat with using something like a regular mogul to mogul socket because it’s not pulse rated. This is one area that could be hazardous, and you need to make sure that if you have to modify the fixture that you do so by electrical codes.

Socket adapters.
Part of this category is adapters which can take you from one socket type to another. Sometimes this is the easiest way to convert certain light fixtures to something that will work for you. Sometimes people buy things in Europe, and it takes a different kind of base and needs an adapter so they can use American type bases for the lighting they have. This is one of the best and most common ways that a socket lamp adapters used, but there are many other situations where you don’t want to rework the fixture, and you want to keep everything else the same. So that extension adapter makes a lot of sense, and it’s one of the least expensive ways to change your lighting without having to do a lot of rewiring or changing the socket.

Fluorescent bulb sockets.
One of the other extensive categories of light bulb sockets is fluorescent lighting. And although there are a few that make up the majority of what’s out in the marketplace, there are many other odd sizes or different applications used for particular types of fluorescents. One of the things to keep in mind as to whether you have a medium bi-pin which is typical of any linear fluorescent. These are rated at high voltages and can work in almost any type of office lighting fixture that you see used today. Sometimes these are also called lamp holders, and that is part of their function which is keeping the actual bulb in place. It’s more than just an electrical connection; it’s a way to keep something solidly in place. This subset of light sockets also includes things like compact fluorescent which often has a two pin or 4 pin base.

Halogen bulb sockets.
Halogen light bulb sockets are something that becomes a category unto itself although you can use the standard household base with many of the halogens. Sometimes there is the bi-pin base bulb which is a small little bulb either with or without a reflector, and that has a distinctive two pin base. Typically those also have some ceramic housing or construction because they have to withstand the very high heat of halogen lighting. And sometimes the heat is drawn out of the back of the lamp with something like an MR16 bulb. Very often those type of light sockets needs to be replaced on a regular basis. They can get worn out over time just from the heat that the halogen puts off. It could be considered a consumable item, and it’s something that has to be replaced on occasion if the fixture doesn’t have excellent heat dissipation. Halogen lighting does have more heat associated with it and is usually harder on sockets, so it’s something to keep in mind if you have a lot of halogens in your commercial building or retail store. If you’re fighting heat all the time and it’s doing some damaging things to the light fixtures you have, you may want to consider moving over to LED which has low heat, and a lot of you have already done that. But if you haven’t, it’s a good time to consider that because the energy savings are so high, but you’ll also get the extra benefit of not having so much heat in your light fixtures and therefore causing them some damage over time. In this general category of light bulb sockets, you have a whole subcategory of something called socket adapters. These are adapter converters they can take an existing type of socket and converting it to another. It’s straightforward, and many times these can be used in some different situations where you can’t rewire a light fixture, or it’s very inconvenient to do that. Adapters make a lot of sense for people that want to get to a different kind of lighting without having to do all sorts of rewiring which can cost a lot of money and time if you can do it yourself. Not only do we have the adapters, but we also have the extenders that can move the light bulb out an inch or more in a light fixture that needs to get the light further out. There may be a situation where the construction of the light fixture is such that the actual bulb won’t fit in there unless you use an extender. So that’s a good solution for many of you who don’t want to go out and buy new light fixtures but want something that’s going to fit correctly.

HID bulb sockets.
HID light bulb sockets are another subcategory of the very high voltage sockets that have to be able to withstand a very high momentary pulse of voltage to start the HID lamp. You can’t use a standard socket with those type of light bulbs. Even though they look very similar and some of the HID lamps will screw into those standard bases, the voltage pulse will ruin a standard light socket. You always see a designation for HID use and the very high rating that it has. They’re often a little more money than the standard sockets of course, but they are made for a specialized purpose for everybody safety and proper operation of HID lighting.

How can we help you today?
If you are a high-volume user of this type of product, give us a call, and we can get you some special pricing that will relate to ordering these in mass quantities. We always want to make sure we get you the best price possible on these quality lighting accessory products, free shipping on larger orders too! You can either call or email us with any of the information that you have and if you have a question about what light socket you have. If you’re unsure, it’s always good to send us a picture by either email or text, and we can get you the proper answer because we’ve seen just about everything that’s on the market today.