Halogen screw in bulbs - waste of money

Generic Male Homosapien · 2003-11-07T12:00:24+00:00

I just looked at some of the screw in halogen bulbs that should fitany fixture made for common indecesant bulbs.They claim more light for less energy.When you read the wattage and lumens rating, it's obvious their claimis a lie.A standard indecesant bulb actually puts out about 1% to 2% MORElumens than the halogen of the same wattage. And the bulb uses the SAME wattage.It's something like a 100 watt bulb uses 100 watts whether it'sindecesant or halogen. The ind bulb produces somethingh like 1380lumens, the hal light produces 1365 lumens.The ind. bulb costs around 50 cents, the halogen bulb costs about $5.SO, what's the point. There is no energy savings at all, 100 watts is100 watts. And after you pay 10 times as much for the halogen, youactually get 1% or 2% less light. The only advantage I saw was thatthe halogen is rated to last 1 1/2 times that of an ind. bulb. BIGDEAL..... First of all, those life expectency numbers are alwaysexaggerated anyhow. And you could buy TEN ind. bulbs for the cost ofone halogen.I just dont see the point of these halogens at all, other than to makemoney for the seller.

Nov 07, 2003 25 Replies

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Joseph Meehan 22 years ago

I might add one other difference. Because halogens generally have more compact filaments and they are encased in a smaller area (both part of the halogen cycle that gives them the longer life) the result is a little more visible light and less infrared (heat).

Some may realized that halogens get hotter and expect that they give off less heat, but while they are hotter they have less surface area and the net heat loss is less.

As you pointed out that there are so many other factors, that it is hard to point out any one.

Another point, not directly related to halogens, are dimmers. While a dimmer will save energy ,when used, using a larger bulb, of the same design, and them dimming it to get the same light will use more energy. Long life bulbs also use more energy per light output for the same reason. The original writer had the right idea of comparing light output to watts but missed many other factors.

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HA HA Budys Here 22 years ago

Don't forget that, unless you're a jewelry store, lighting usually represents less than 20% of your total electric bill. If you're looking to save energy, invest in replacing the real energy wasters, like old refrigeratiors, unused freezers, dehumidifiers , air-conditioners.

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j j 22 years ago

I have some 30 watt (or less, could be 28) CF bulbs made by Globo. They are supposed to be the equivalent of 100 watts and they are indeed very bright. They're also very resistant. My dad dropped one while changing it, from around 6 or 7 feet, and the thing still works great, no crack or anything.

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j j 22 years ago

that's not the only reason to use CF bulbs. My reason is simple: the lamp I have accepts 3 bulbs of maximum 60 watts each and I want more light. 100 watts would be too hot. Another reason is the house wiring is very old and there are many circuits connected to one wire. 300 watts in my lamp is too much draw.

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Mike Hartigan 22 years ago

Lumen rating is for a new bulb. In a standard incandescent bulb, as the tungsten evaporates from the filament, it is deposited on the inside wall of the glass bulb, reducing the light output of the bulb. In a halogen bulb, the tungsten is deposited back on the filament, so the bulb's light output stays fairly constant over it's lifetime (that's also the reason for it's longer life).

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HA HA Budys Here 22 years ago

That's all fine and good, but how many times have you thought, right before a bulb burned out, "Gee, that puppy sure is getting dim..."?

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