Energy Saving Halogen
History
Around 130 years ago the first incarnations of incandescent lamps were being switched on in the UK. This was the Victorian era of candles, paraffin oil lamps, and gas lighting. In around 1880 Thomas Edison in America and the English Sir Joseph Swan had independently invented the incandescent light bulb. Edison got to the patent first, but Swan’s house in Gateshead was the first in the world to be lit by an electric light bulb.
It was to be some time before an electric light bulb was common in English households. Only after World War 1 did they become standard fare. Fast-forward nearly a hundred years and most household versions of the traditional incandescent light bulb have been phased out following an EU ban. Halogen lights, also incandescent, are here to pick up the baton!
Regular incandescent v halogen
Regular incandescent bulbs are inefficient - there’s no escaping that fact. Most of their energy (90%) is wasted in producing heat. Similar can be said of halogen bulbs; they’re famously hot in use. Traditional incandescent bulbs work by burning a tungsten filament, which gradually vaporises - often leaving a deposit on the inside of the bulb. Halogen bulbs are typically constructed with an interior quartz envelope, so they might be thought of as a bulb within a bulb. This ‘envelope’ contains halogen gas and a tungsten filament, with the gas serving to deposit tungsten back onto the filament as it’s heated. This technology makes the halogen lamp burn more brightly, and extends lifespan by around two times.
Halogen v energy-saving halogen
Halogen in its base form is something like 10% more energy-efficient than its regular incandescent cousin. The type of halogen being used inside the bulb influences the final figure. In addition to that, a new technology that redirects infrared heat back onto the filament helps the lamp burn more brightly still and bumps up energy-efficiency to around 20-40% over basic halogen technology. Some energy-saving halogen bulbs clock up an amazing 50-60% advantage over old incandescent bulbs.
The halogen advantage
Halogen lighting tends to be cheap - that’s one thing we can all appreciate. But where it really shines is in light quality. Being an incandescent light source it produces a full spectrum of light, which makes it almost peerlessly colour-accurate. The CRI measure (colour rendering index) that is sometimes referred to is inherently maxed out by halogen, where other technologies fumble to hit a half-decent score. Halogen light is bright, crisp, and is ideal as critical display lighting or task lighting.
What we stock
We sell a wide variety of energy-saving halogen lamps:
- Energy Saving Halogen GLS Bulbs: high quality replacements for regular incandescent bulbs with extra energy-efficiency and twice the lifespan.
- Energy Saving Halogen Candle Bulbs: perfect for crisp, pure light from your luminaires and pendants!
- Energy Saving Halogen Golf Ball Bulbs: little spherical marvels of crisp halogen lighting for your compact-sized luminaires or decorative pendants.
- Energy Saving Halogen GU10s: the classic mains-powered spotlight with all the inherent benefits of one of the best forms of light around.
- Energy Saving Halogen Low Voltage Spotlights: low voltage multifaceted reflectors for track or rail lights, recessed ceiling lights or desk lamps.
- Energy Saving Halogen Double Ended Linear: powerful halogen linear lamps for uses such as floodlights.
- Energy Saving Halogen Reflectors: bright and efficient replacements for old incandescent ‘R’ type mains reflectors.
- Energy Saving Halogen Capsules: incredibly bright light from very small luminaires and fittings is possible with these great incandescent replacements.
- Energy Saving Halogen AR111: impressive output for lighting large display areas—save money over old incandescent equivalents!
Still trailing fluorescent lamps or LEDs for sheer low-powered efficiency and lifespan, these energy-saving halogens are, nonetheless, an enticing blend of affordability and fantastic-quality light.