Swan supplied about 1,200 incandescent lamps, powered by an 88.3 kW (120 hp) generator on open land near the theatre.

In 1929 the oil burner was replaced by a petroleum vapour burner, which was in turn replaced in 1936 by a four-kilowatt electric lamp powered by a diesel generator.

Owl rotated away from Squirrel and moved her chair back down the ramp and into the common room, where lamps powered by solar cells gave off a stronger light.

Initially the beacon was produced by a mechanical system that rotated the incandescent lamp every 5 seconds, powered by a diesel engine (and with a butane reserve).

Originally systems used lamps powered by direct current or the power line alternating current frequency, but modern photodetector systems use an infrared light-emitting diode modulated at a few kilohertz, which allows the detector to reject stray light and improves the range, sensitivity and security of the device.

As lighthouses proliferated, lamps powered by coal, whale oil, kerosene and other fuels became commonplace.

In Latin America, San Jose, Costa Rica was the first city, the system was launched on August 9, 1884, with 25 lamps powered by a hydroelectric plant.

A fifth-order Fresnel lens from France was installed and lit with an 210-candlepower electric lamp powered from the city power grid.

An important improvement was introduced with the advent of lamps powered by carbide.