Collection: Soraa PAR LED Lamps

PAR Size Quick-Selection Guide

Soraa PAR LED lamps are the workhorses of directional accent lighting, made as the Soraa PAR20, Soraa PAR30S short-neck, Soraa PAR30L long-neck, and Soraa PAR38, all on a medium base E26 at 120V. Every size is a high-CRI PAR LED and a direct halogen replacement, which means one screw-in family can cover a job from small-space retail lighting to an outdoor flood, with no transformer to specify or maintain. Start by picking the size for the fixture it drops into:

PAR30 Short Neck vs. Long Neck

The neck length matters as much as the diameter. A PAR30S and PAR30L share the same 3.75-inch face, but the short-neck seats in a shallow housing while the long-neck reaches down into a deeper can, so measuring the recess before ordering keeps the lamp flush and the beam clean.

Where Soraa PAR Lamps Work

Retail, Hospitality, and Home Uses

PAR lamps go almost anywhere a fixture points light in one direction. In retail, PAR30 and PAR38 heads light displays, endcaps, and signage from track or recessed cans. In hospitality, they wash walls and pick out features in lobbies and dining rooms. In homes, PAR20 and PAR30 handle kitchen, hallway, and accent downlights. Offices and lobbies use PAR30 in downlights for even, comfortable light, while museums use narrow-beam PAR for object accents where a screw-in lamp is preferred over low-voltage wiring.

Outdoor and Landscape PAR Lighting

Outdoors, a PAR38 in a covered or damp-rated fixture floods entries, facades, and landscape features, and because it screws into a standard 120V socket, there is no transformer to fail in the weather. Galleries and showrooms lean on VIVID PAR for accurate color on art and merchandise, while general spaces do fine on Brilliant HL for more light at a lower cost. The common thread is throw: choose a narrow beam to accent a single object and a wider beam to cover an area, and the same PAR body handles both jobs by swapping the beam angle rather than the fixture.

VIVID or Brilliant HL

When to Choose VIVID or Brilliant HL

The tier decision comes down to what the space is for. For galleries, fine dining, and jewelry displays, choose Soraa VIVID PAR at rated 95 CRI, where full-spectrum rendering makes art, food, and merchandise read true. For general retail, residential, landscape, and corridors, Soraa Brilliant HL PAR gives rated 90-92 CRI with about 40% more lumens at a lower cost, which is the better value when brightness matters more than color-critical accuracy.

Smaller Heads and SNAP-Compatible Spots

Need a smaller accent head or a tighter object beam than a PAR can throw? Compare Soraa MR16 GU10 and Soraa AR111 for low-voltage precision work. The 10-degree PAR30 and PAR38 spots also work with SNAP accessories, so you can widen or shape the beam after install, and you can browse the full Soraa range to keep one color standard across a mixed project.

Matching Output and Dimming

Match Lumens, Not Halogen Wattage

Buy PAR lamps by the light you want, not the old wattage. A Soraa PAR30 stands in for a 50W to 75W halogen while drawing a fraction of the power, so compare lumens and center-beam intensity rather than watts. Set the beam angle to the throw - narrow for accents, wider for coverage - and check your dimmer against Soraa's compatible controls for flicker-free low-end performance. For enclosed or damp fixtures, every PAR here is already rated, so a single lamp covers indoor and covered-outdoor positions without a special-order part. When several heads share one circuit, keeping them the same model and firmware helps every lamp fade together instead of dropping out one at a time.

One E26 Family Across the Job

On a mixed retrofit, the PAR family also keeps sourcing simple. Because PAR20, PAR30S, PAR30L, and PAR38 all share the E26 base and 120V supply, a single order can cover track heads, recessed cans, and outdoor floods without specifying a different socket or a transformer for any of them. That matters on a job with dozens of positions, where one mismatched base can hold up an install. Buy the size for each fixture, set the beam for the throw, and confirm the dimmer, and the same screw-in family handles retail, hospitality, residential, and landscape from one product line - which is also what keeps the color and finish consistent from the entrance to the back wall.

VIVID and Brilliant HL PAR Options

Every PAR size comes in two tiers, so you can hold one screw-in family across a whole job.

VIVID PAR - full-spectrum, rated 95 CRI, for galleries, fine dining, and jewelry displays where color leads.

Brilliant HL PAR - higher output, rated 90-92 CRI, for general retail, residential, landscape, and corridors at a lower cost.