This is one lamp that has some special applications that really no other bulb can fill at this time.  It's been used for decades in places where a long tubular incandescent bulb is needed to get light across a wider area.  This bulb is a incandescent T8 tubular type which has a longer filament and can be used in certain kinds of task lighting or often times in furniture applications.  Often you'll see the T8 bulbs used in some display cabinets, but there are others as well.  Of course, there are many other places that they're used in tight spaces that require a tubular type of light.  What's great about these is that the have a standard medium base which means it can be put into any kind of incandescent fixture if it fits. T8 tubular light bulbs come in a couple of wattages including 40 or 75 watts.  They also have either a clear or frosted finish, which depending on what you're using them in, will make a difference in how the the light is dispersed.  And if you have an area like a display case with the lights very close to the subject itself, then you might want to consider the frosted version as the light will be broken up not leaving filament support shadows.  The typical code for these lamps is something like 40T8 or 75T8 with either a C for clear or an F for the frosted version.  These lamps aren't known for super long life, but the ones we stock have a 3500 hour rated life which exceeds many other brands on the market.  The brand we carry is Westinghouse which is a leader in providing many kinds of bulbs.

There are many people that have tried to replace these with more efficient light sources, these would be for areas in commercial buildings where reduced electrical consumption is important.  And for the most part, there are many fluorescent fixtures and halogen fixtures that can replace these giving more life at a better quality of light.  But for many people this standard bulb with its medium base will continue to be used because they like the look of it and the convenience of having this tubular light of such a low cost.  If you have areas that might have the space, but you use a standard A19 lamp, you may want to consider using T8 tubular incandescent light bulbs to spread out the light over a larger area.  There's really no limit to the places that might be better served by using a T8 tubular light.  Of course, commercial display cases are a natural as several in a row will give an even linear amount of light.  These shouldn't be confused with other linear light sources such as Linestra, they don't have a standard medium base, but rather a side prong situation.

Keep in mind that there are many wattages of T8 tubular incandescent light bulbs, we describe a couple of the types used in certain types of lighting applications here.  We have a large inventory of light bulbs for nearly every type of light fixture in the field.  These are a part of our new extensive stock and we've always been specialists in providing those hard-to-find bulbs.  If you need help identifying a tubular bulb of any kind, our customer service representatives can help you determine what you have.