Do halogen bulbs get hot?

charlie b

charlie b

Moderator
Staff member
Location
Lockport, IL
Occupation
Semi-Retired Electrical Engineer
NOTE: This is not a DIY post.

I need to replace the light bulb in my garage door opener because the existing LED bulb interfered (electronically) with my new wireless remote door controller. The limit for an incandescent bulb is 60 watts, but I don't know if I can still buy such things. If I use a 60W halogen bulb, will that get hotter than a 60W incandescent bulb?
 
I found this online

    • Heat Output:
      While halogen bulbs are more efficient, they still produce a significant amount of heat. According to a Deseret News article, a 300-watt tubular halogen bulb can reach temperatures of around 970 to 1200 degrees Fahrenheit, which is much higher than the temperature of a comparable incandescent bulb.
 
It won't produce any more than 60 watts of heat.

Halogen may produce more light than regular incandescant at same watts. This sort of gets into the photometrics as it is a different color temperature that may seem brighter although actual light output may still be similar.

Most the 60 watts of either is heat, only a small amount of energy is in the light output.
 
Here are a couple links.

www.homedepot.com

Genie Universal Garage Door Opener LED Light Bulb GLEDB2-R - The Home Depot

Elevate your garage door openers to a whole new level by installing this Genie Universal Garage Door Opener LED Light Bulb.
www.homedepot.com

www.homedepot.com

Feit Electric 60-Watt Equivalent A19 Non-Dimmable CEC Title20 90 CRI Garage Door Opener E26 Medium LED Light Bulb, Bright White 3000K OM60930CA10KLEDGARBX - The Home Depot

Change the entire look and feel of any room in your home with the use of this durable Feit Electric Equivalent Bright White A Title LED Garage Door Opener Light Bulb.
www.homedepot.com
 
curt swartz said:
Charlie, have you tried using LED lamps "rated" for garage door openers? They claim to not interfere with remote signals. I know Genie and Fiet market them.
Click to expand...


curt swartz said:
Here are a couple links.

www.homedepot.com

Genie Universal Garage Door Opener LED Light Bulb GLEDB2-R - The Home Depot

Elevate your garage door openers to a whole new level by installing this Genie Universal Garage Door Opener LED Light Bulb.
www.homedepot.com

www.homedepot.com

Feit Electric 60-Watt Equivalent A19 Non-Dimmable CEC Title20 90 CRI Garage Door Opener E26 Medium LED Light Bulb, Bright White 3000K OM60930CA10KLEDGARBX - The Home Depot

Change the entire look and feel of any room in your home with the use of this durable Feit Electric Equivalent Bright White A Title LED Garage Door Opener Light Bulb.
www.homedepot.com
Click to expand...

This seems like the way to go. At least that's what I would try first.

I don't particularly remember a 43W lamp getting any hotter than a 60W incandescent.

Rob G
Seattle
 
TLDR: An ordinary A shaped halogen bulb will have essentially the same surface temperature as an ordinary A shaped incandescent bulb of the same wattage.

A 'halogen' bulb is a type of incandescent lamp. Just a filament that gets very hot to emit light.

The _filament_ in a halogen bulb will get hotter than the filament in an ordinary incandescent lamp. This is how halogen bulbs get higher efficiency; they use a halogen gas to help maintain filament integrity at the higher temperature.

The filament is likely contained in a small quartz capsule. This capsule will get much hotter than the surface of an ordinary incandescent A style bulb. Remember the 500W linear halogen bulbs: they got _very_ hot.

If the capsule is then enclosed in an ordinary A style bulb, I'd expect that outer bulb to be at a similar temperature to an ordinary A style incandescent bulb.

-Jonathan
 
winnie said:
TLDR: An ordinary A shaped halogen bulb will have essentially the same surface temperature as an ordinary A shaped incandescent bulb of the same wattage.

A 'halogen' bulb is a type of incandescent lamp. Just a filament that gets very hot to emit light.

The _filament_ in a halogen bulb will get hotter than the filament in an ordinary incandescent lamp. This is how halogen bulbs get higher efficiency; they use a halogen gas to help maintain filament integrity at the higher temperature.

The filament is likely contained in a small quartz capsule. This capsule will get much hotter than the surface of an ordinary incandescent A style bulb. Remember the 500W linear halogen bulbs: they got _very_ hot.

If the capsule is then enclosed in an ordinary A style bulb, I'd expect that outer bulb to be at a similar temperature to an ordinary A style incandescent bulb.

-Jonathan
Click to expand...
To produce same amount of light a non halogen lamp likely end up producing more heat as a halogen lamp?

The lamp still has argon, krypton or xenon inside but also a small amount of a halogen gas such as iodine or bromine. That halogen gas slows down evaporation of the tungsten element, possibly from recollection even causes any evaporation to redeposit back onto the element. This is part of what allows them to operate at such a high temp without suffering from short element life, but because the operating temp is higher more light is produced with less energy than needed with more conventional incandescent lamp designs.

A 60 watt equivalent lamp may not be such a common thing with these. I remember when they were fairly popular a 75 watt flood lamp was maybe one the most common items, but it's light output was more like what you would get from a regular 90 or 100 watt lamp.
 
You guys apparently haven't been burnt by a hot halogen bulb. I think they are way hotter than an incandescent bulb, especially the tube type like used in construction lights.
 
Little Bill said:
You guys apparently haven't been burnt by a hot halogen bulb. I think they are way hotter than an incandescent bulb, especially the tube type like used in construction lights.
Click to expand...
I remember being told not to handle the glass capsules with bare hands because oil from your fingers can weaken the glass or cause it to get a lot hotter, resulting in a rupture of the capsule. I don't know if it is true but I always used gloves..
 
ggunn said:
I remember being told not to handle the glass capsules with bare hands because oil from your fingers can weaken the glass or cause it to get a lot hotter, resulting in a rupture of the capsule.
Click to expand...
Ben there done that, back when I did theatre lighting.
In those days we used the full name of the bulbs, Tungsten Halogen and Quartz Halogen.
 
ggunn said:
I remember being told not to handle the glass capsules with bare hands because oil from your fingers can weaken the glass or cause it to get a lot hotter, resulting in a rupture of the capsule. I don't know if it is true but I always used gloves..
Click to expand...
I used to work in a factory and several machines used halogen lights. I always used gloves, or a cloth, to replace bulbs. I was burned on a construction light halogen bulb, but I wasn't meaning to touch the bulb, I was trying to put the cover on and a screw fell into the light and I was trying to get it out.
 
fastline said:
60W is 60W.......🤔
Click to expand...
Wattage of most light bulbs is not a indicator of current draw. While not directly related lamp wattage is usually used to compare relative light output.
Tungsten filaments have a positive temp coefficient, their resistance goes up as they get hotter.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top