Among the lighting elements, a halogen lamp occupies a confident position. It is almost analogous to a standard incandescent bulb. Has a number of advantages over its progenitor.
Definition and device
A halogen lamp is almost the same incandescent lamp, only halogen vapors (iodine or bromine) are added to its bulb. They are also called buffer gases. Thanks to this, it is possible to enhance the glow of the element up to 3000 Kelvin and extend the service life. Halogenka can work on average 2,000-4,000 hours. With a soft start, the service life can be extended to 8,000-12,000 hours.
Like a standard incandescent lamp, the lighting element has a base and a bulb.
Principle of operation
Halogen lamps for home or street lighting work like this:
- Electric current flows through the coil (tungsten filament), which heats it to high temperatures.
- When warmed up, the body begins to glow. This is the working position of the light bulb.
- Due to the high temperature, the atoms of the tungsten filament begin to evaporate. But they react with bromine or iodine and do not settle on the glass of the bulb, as happens in ordinary incandescent lamps, but return back to the spiral.
- This extends the life of the element and enhances its glow.
Halogen bulbs work equally efficiently with direct and alternating currents.
Pros and cons
A metal halide lamp has several advantages and disadvantages. The pluses include:
- wide scope;
- compactness of the flask;
- ease of installation;
- acceptable market price;
- service life 2-3 times longer than that of a standard incandescent lamp;
- bright glow even with modest parameters;
- Ra level (color rendering) is 99-100, which allows not to distort the colors of furniture, interior items in the room.
Of the minuses, the following points are distinguished:
- the level of efficiency is not higher than 15%;
- the working resource depends on the smoothness and frequency of switching on;
- the need to install switches with dimmers, which entails additional costs.
If we are talking about a large number of halogen bulbs used, the costs are justified.
Areas of use
MGL is widely used to organize lighting at such facilities:
- interior premises for any purpose;
- street lighting lines (lamp posts, searchlight installations);
- car lights;
- aviation lighting;
- commercial retail space (illumination of showcases of jewelry, antiques);
- public places;
- lighting devices for photography and video filming (spotlights, projectors);
- as infrared radiation sources in microwave ovens, soldering irons, electric stoves, etc.
Most favorably, halogens set off all colors of a cold scale.
Varieties of household halogen lamps
There are several types of lighting elements on the market. Each of them has its own technical parameters and characteristics.
Linear
This is the oldest type of halogen.Externally, it is a tube with two R7s caps at its ends. Halogen linear lamp requires mandatory horizontal placement. The power range of such elements is 1-20 kW, depending on the size. Most often used for floodlighting devices. The tube length can vary from 78 to 118 mm.
With outer flask
Identical in structure and design to conventional incandescent lamps. They also have a flask, inside which there is another quartz one, and an Edison base (E14 or E27). These halogens can be used even without lamps.
The glass of such a light bulb can be milky, transparent or frosted. There are also elements in which the bulb material absorbs UV radiation.
The flask can have different shapes - polygonal, hexagonal, candle-shaped, pear-shaped, etc.
A transformer is not needed for elements with an external bulb, and a protection block for soft start would be desirable.
With reflector
These 220 volt home halogen lamps are available in three standard sizes - MR8, MR11 and MR16. The luminous flux of the elements is characterized by different angles of incidence.
Halogen device: bulb with built-in reflector. There are metal (aluminum) reflectors that direct the light beam forward. There are also interference reflectors that bounce light back. This increases the temperature of the filament, which leads to a brighter glow and less heat loss. Thus, an economical consumption of electricity occurs.
Light bulbs with reflectors are best used for spot, directional lighting. It is advisable to connect them through a transformer.
Capsule
These elements are tiny and equipped with a G9 base. The decoding of the marking means that the distance between the pins is 9 mm here. Therefore, they are also called g9 halogen lamps. In capsule lamps, the filament body can be longitudinal or transverse. The main purpose of such elements is to operate in lamps and chandeliers without upper decorative glasses. The G9 halogen lamp can also be used in recessed furniture lighting.
Low voltage systems
These types of lamps use xenon as the filling gas. The luminous flux is increased by 10% with the same power consumption as other halogens. Low voltage elements ignite instantly. The main areas of application are medical optics or special lighting devices.
Protection block
To further enhance the service life of the halogen, the craftsmen use a protection unit. The main task of the device is to provide a smooth supply of current to the light bulb when it is turned on. Often, with a sharp intake of it, the element simply burns out.
As a result, the supply of current, and hence the intensity of brightness, increases gradually within 1-2 seconds. The protective block has two leads. Phase-to-ground, input-output and polarity are not of fundamental importance.
The unit is often referred to as a soft starter.
Transformer for halogen lamps
All halogens are divided according to the working voltage class - 220 Volts and 12 Volts. When replacing halogen bulbs with g4 12v LED bulbs, a transformer installation is required. It also additionally protects the lighting elements from power surges and overheating.
There are two types of transformers:
- Toroidal. It is considered the simplest. It is assembled from a core and two windings. The main advantages are excellent reliability, easy connection, low price.
- Pulse (electronic). In its design, such a transformer has a core, two windings and a magnetic circuit. There are four types of electronic device, depending on the shape of the core and the method of locating the windings on it - armored, toroidal, rod and armored rod. In addition, the number of turns of the windings is different for pulse transformers.The main advantages of electronic transformers are compactness, light weight, large input voltage range, absence of noise and heating during operation.
The pulse transformer has a high efficiency.
Comparison of halogen and LED lamps
Many craftsmen are wondering which lamps are better - halogen or LED for the home. Here it is important to consider the features of the technical parameters of both types of lighting devices:
- The power consumption of an LED is less than that of a halogen. Both bulbs are more cost effective than the standard tungsten filament.
- Power. 60W halogen lamps correspond to the power of a 100-watt conventional lamp. The same power level is given by a 10 W LED.
- Lifetime. Led lamp - 100,000 hours. Halogen - about 4,000 hours
- Both types of elements reach their maximum brightness in 1-3 seconds.
- Glow spectrum. Halogens are cold white. LEDs - neutral, warm and cold to choose from. In addition, Led bulbs can have different colors.
- Disposal. LEDs are in household waste. Halogens - require special disposal as they can pollute the environment.
- Permissible operating temperature range. LEDs - from -90 to +200 degrees. Halogen - from -130 to +160 degrees. Thus, the latter cannot be used where there is poor heat dissipation: in tight spaces, in furniture, in lamps with tightly closed shades.
- Price. LEDs are five times more expensive than metal halide.
You can put Led lamps instead of halogens, but only if the network is perfectly working without voltage surges. At the same time, the cost of purchasing LEDs will pay off over time due to more economical energy consumption.
Based on the knowledge of the listed parameters and the difference between the two types of lamps, the master can choose the type of element for the specific conditions of their use.
Features of operation
Correct use of halogen lamps means:
- Installation of elements with gloves or through a dry clean cloth. This is due to the fact that grease stains and prints remain on the glass bulb. Later, due to the high temperature of the heated lamp, black spots form on its body. This is the burnt fat of the imprint left. Such marks lead to overheating inside the bulb and its further failure.
- It is important to avoid touching the bulb of the mounted light bulb with any materials. Especially with wood, cloth, paper and other flammable materials.
- Do not touch the working halogen with your hand. Possible severe burns.
If the element is used with a dimmer, you need to periodically light the lamp for 10 minutes at full power. From this, the tungsten iodide precipitate accumulated in the flask will evaporate.
Checking a halogen bulb
The performance of the element can be checked with a multimeter. It is put into the mode for determining the minimum resistance. Then they act according to the scheme:
- the lamp is taken by the flask with a dry napkin;
- a probe inserted into the VΩmA connector is connected to the terminal of the base.
If the element is working, the multimeter will show resistance in the range from 0.5 Ohm to several units. If the result on the device screen is closer to infinity, then the halogen is inoperative.
