How Halogen Lights Differ From Incandescent Bulbs

Halogen lights or bulbs are also more efficient than a traditional incandescent bulb. They produce at least as much heat, but last much longer. A normal light bulb usually only lasts up to 750 hours. Light bulbs are supposed to create light, which they do. Incandescent light bulbs and halogen bulbs however produce more heat than light. Nonetheless, the light produced from these bulbs is plenty to take care of most consumer needs.

A halogen bulb like an incandescent one uses tungsten filaments to produce light. However, the filaments in a tungsten bulb are kept inside a quartz envelope much smaller than that of a traditional light. The vapors inside this enclosure come from halogen gases. These include:

• Chlorine
• Bromine
• Iodine
• Fluorine
• Astatine

Halogen gases combine with atoms from tungsten vapors, evaporate and then recycle them into the filament. Because the filament is recycled these bulbs generally last much longer than traditional lights. Halogen lights are much hotter however than incandescent lights because the envelope enclosing the filament is so close to the filament.

Benefits of Incandescent Bulbs

So far incandescent bulbs have received of a "bad rap" despite their excellent performance over the last few decades. Though most are not super efficient, incandescent bulbs are still the most popular and widely used light bulbs today.

Incandescent bulbs do offer many advantages over other forms of light and electricity. The primary advantages of these bulbs include:

• Inexpensive to buy.
• Widely available.
• Easy to use in most traditional electrical systems.
• Adaptable for use in small systems.
• Run using low voltage, including battery operated or DC power sources.
• Come in many different shapes, styles and sizes.

When in doubt, chances are you can rely on the time-tested incandescent bulb for light in most situations.

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