1. How much heat (or infrared
radiation) is emitted by regular, halogen, and compact fluorescent
lamps?
Because incandescent and halogen
bulbs create light through heat, about 90% of the energy they
emit is in the form of heat (also called infrared radiation).
To reduce the heat emitted by regular incandescent and halogen
light bulbs, use a lower watt bulb (like 60 watts instead of
100).
Fluorescent lamps use an entirely
different method to create light. Both compact fluorescent lamps
and fluorescent tubes contain a gas that, when excited by electricity,
hits a coating inside the fluorescent lamp and emits light.
(This makes them far more energy-efficient than regular incandescent
lamps.) The fluorescent lamps used in your home emit only around
30% of their energy in heat, making them far cooler.
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2. What is a halogen lamp?
Halogen is a type of incandescent
lamp. It has a tungsten filament just like a regular incandescent
that you may use in your home, however the lamp is filled with
halogen gas. When an incandescent lamp (one which produces light
by heating a tungsten filament) operates, tungsten from the
filament is evaporated into the gas of the bulb and deposited
on the glass wall. The bulb "burns out" when enough
tungsten has evaporated from the filament so that electricity
can no longer be conducted across it. The halogen gas in a halogen
lamp carries the evaporated tungsten particles back to the filament
and re-deposits them. This gives the lamp a longer life than
regular A-line incandescent lamps and provides for a cleaner
bulb wall for light to shine through.
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3. Why do halogen lamps
last longer than incandescent?
The life of incandescent and
halogen lamps, referred to as tungsten filament lamps, is limited
by the state of the filament. The filament is the wire inside
the bulb that produces light when heated. The lamp will not
work if the filament is broken which may occur as a result of
the application of force, such as dropping the bulb, or by lack
of tungsten in a particular area over the filament. During the
operation of tungsten filament lamps, tungsten from the filament
evaporates into the gas inside the lamp. When the tungsten comes
in contact with a cool surface it will condense. Often, with
incandescent products, the tungsten condenses on the bulb wall.
Because the tungsten is redeposited on the wall instead of the
filament, the filament grows thin over time. Eventually, there
will be a point on the filament with so little tungsten that
the filament will break and the lamp will stop working.
Halogen lamps have a special
gas inside their bulb containing halogens. The halogen gas facilitates
the "halogen regenerative cycle" which means that
the halogens carry the evaporated tungsten back to the filament
instead of allowing it to deposit on the bulb wall. By placing
the tungsten back on the filament instead of the wall, it delays
the filament breaking due to lack of tungsten. Although the
halogen cycle significantly increases the life of the lamp,
it cannot last forever because the halogen gasses cannot place
the tungsten on a specific spot on the filament to avoid any
place having too little tungsten and breaking.
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4. What does "dichroic"
mean?
The term "dichroic"
applies to FIREFLY MR16 lamps
specifically, not in general to low-voltage halogen lighting.
For the FIREFLY MR16 lamp, dichroic
describes the type of coating on the reflectors. These coatings
can also be described as "multi-layer interference films".
They are made up of dozens of layers of thin materials that
have the unusual property of selectively reflecting or transmitting
certain wavelengths of visible light, IR, and UV. Such dichroic
coatings have been used since the 1960s to reduce the heat in
the beam of certain reflector lamps. The coatings are also very
durable and will not flake off or deteriorate as the lamp burns.
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5. When using an MR16
Halogen lamp, why do I need to use a closed fixture or an MR16
with cover glass?
MR16 lamps without cover glass
should only be used in a closed fixture (fixture that keeps
all parts of bulb enclosed) since the filament tube of all MR16
lamps is pressurized. In the unlikely event that the filament
tube breaks, the closed fixture keeps glass particles from leaving
the fixture. MR16 lamps with a built-on cover glass can be operated
in an open fixture since the cover glass will contain any broken
pieces of the filament tube.
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6. Does an MR16 Halogen
lamp provide much UV?
Tungsten filament lamps, such
as halogen and incandescent, provide minimal UV. FIREFLY's
Dichroic Reflector Halogen MR16 lamps are made and fitted with
glass that enable it to shield all the UV.
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7. What is the coating
used on the Dichroic Reflector Halogen Lamp?
The coating used on Dichroic
Reflector Halogen lamps is made from tantala and silica. It
is applied only to the outside of the bulb.
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8. What type of halogen
product is best for reducing heat (infrared radiation)?
FIREFLY's
Dichroic Reflector Halogen lamp with dichroic coating is the
best halogen option for reducing IR. A special dichroic reflector
allows two-thirds of the infrared radiation emitted by the filament
to be directed back toward the base of the lamp. Thus, the forward
beam of light contains up to 66% less heat.
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9. I can't find the lumen
rating on my MR16/MR11 lamp. Why?
MR11s and MR16s are a directional
light source, and are only measured by center beam candle power,
which is the average amount of luminous intensity, or how bright
the light is, at the center of the beam.
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10. What is special about
Dichroic & Halogen lamps?
An IR (infrared) coating is
placed on the filament tube of some of our halogen lamps. This
multiple layer coating not only absorbs UV but also re-directs
IR (heat) back onto the filament. By re-directing the IR back
to the filament, the lamp produces more light for the same amount
of energy and the amount of heat generated by the lamp is reduced
when compared to standard Halogen products. Therefore Dichroic
& Halogen lamps save money by:
• Lowering UV emissions
• Reducing energy costs
• Lessening A/C loads
• Improving preservation of perishable displays
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11. How can I get lighting
product catalogs?
Downloadable PDFs, including
the latest product catalogs with in-depth product specifications
are located in the Products menu of this web site.
+Download
Product Catalogs
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