Moore had devised his glow discharge lighting system by 1896.
The Moore Lamp was an extension of the well-known Geissler tube, which used glass tubes from which the air had been removed and a different gas inserted.
The low-pressure gas glows when a current is passed through it.
As described in 1915, "In the Moore system of lighting the essential feature is the introduction of a special valve which automatically admits gas into the tube as the supply becomes exhausted."
The Moore lamps utilized nitrogen or carbon dioxide as the luminous gas; Moore's innovation compensated for the gradual loss of gas in the lamp to the electrodes and the glass.
Carbon dioxide gave a good quality white light.
The first commercial installation was done in 1904 in a hardware store in Newark, New Jersey.
The lamp yielded about 10 lumens per watt, which was about triple the output of incandescent lights based on carbon filaments.
Arthur Bright has written, "Despite the fact that the tube was expensive to install, complicated, and required very high voltages, its operating advantages were great enough for it to find restricted use in stores, offices, and similar general lighting uses as well as in photography and some advertising and decorative applications."

The modest success of the Moore tubes was among the drivers for developing better filaments for standard incandescent light bulbs.
Tungsten filament bulbs were a sufficient improvement over carbon filaments that the Moore tubes "gradually disappeared from the market, leaving only short carbon-dioxide tubes in use for color matching, in which they excelled because of their daylight color.
The General Electric Company absorbed the two Moore companies and Moore's patents in 1912.
Moore himself rejoined General Electric's laboratory force."
Moore had devised his glow discharge lighting system by 1896. The Moore Lamp was an extension of the well-known Geissler tube, which used glass tubes from which the air had been removed and a different gas inserted. The low-pressure gas glows when a current is passed through it. As described in 1915, "In the Moore system of lighting the essential feature is the introduction of a special valve which automatically admits gas into the tube as the supply becomes exhausted." The Moore lamps utilized nitrogen or carbon dioxide as the luminous gas; Moore's innovation compensated for the gradual loss of gas in the lamp to the electrodes and the glass. Carbon dioxide gave a good quality white light. The first commercial installation was done in 1904 in a hardware store in Newark, New Jersey. The lamp yielded about 10 lumens per watt, which was about triple the output of incandescent lights based on carbon filaments. Arthur Bright has written, "Despite the fact that the tube was expensive to install, complicated, and required very high voltages, its operating advantages were great enough for it to find restricted use in stores, offices, and similar general lighting uses as well as in photography and some advertising and decorative applications."
The modest success of the Moore tubes was among the drivers for developing better filaments for standard incandescent light bulbs. Tungsten filament bulbs were a sufficient improvement over carbon filaments that the Moore tubes "gradually disappeared from the market, leaving only short carbon-dioxide tubes in use for color matching, in which they excelled because of their daylight color. The General Electric Company absorbed the two Moore companies and Moore's patents in 1912. Moore himself rejoined General Electric's laboratory force."
Daniel McFarlan Moore