• 1873, wicked, lard oil lamp
• 1887, wicked, kerosene lamp
• 1911, incandescent oil vapor, mantles (not wicks), kerosene lamp
• 1933, electric, first incandescent bulb
• 1939, electric, incandescent bulb, but characteristic changed from steady white (since
• 1873) to flashing white, 2 seconds on, 2 seconds off, 2 seconds on, 14 seconds off, which it still is today. (The first device used to flash the lamp was a mechanical one from an ordinary traffic light.)
• 1965, electric, halogen, T-20, 1,000 watt Airway Beacon Bulb with glass safety-envelope
• 2010, electric, halogen, T-20 BP, 1,000 watt Airway Beacon Bulb, without glass safety-envelope
• 2018, electric, newer model halogen bulb, short life span
• December 2, 2018, electric, LED (36 individual LEDs).* Yaquina Head became the second US lighthouse, and the first on the West Coast, to use LED technology. The first LED system in the US was installed at Eatons Neck Lighthouse, on Long Island in New York.

*Notes on the LED Light: There are a few major advantages to this light over the previous systems. First, the old bulbs had a 2,000 hour expected life, which meant they would have to be replaced every 2.5-3 months. Due to unavailability, the T-20 BP bulbs were replaced by a newer model in early 2018, which were considerably cheaper but burning out so quickly that techs had to come up from Coos Bay almost every month to replace them. The LED fixture requires no regular maintenance, and the LEDs are good for 10-15 years. Even if one of the LEDs fails for some reason, the remainder will stay illuminated. Additionally, the LEDs are much more efficient than the incandescent and halogen bulbs used in the past. There will be a power savings of approximately 70%.