| HANDLING HALOGENS |
The oils on our hands don’t agree with the coatings on halogen bulbs, so it’s important to not touch these bulbs directly. Dirty bulbs can crack – or even explode!
Instead, grip new halogen bulbs gently with gloves or a clean rag while installing them. If you come in contact with the glass, try cleaning the spot with alcohol. Remember that halogen burns very hot, so use care when replacing a newly blown bulb. |
Quartz halogen
bulbs, also called tungsten, contain a halogen gas that produces
a brighter, whiter beam than other light sources. This recipe
also enables halogen bulbs to dramatically outlast their incandescent
cousins. Though they don’t rival fluorescents for longevity,
halogens are unmatched for intensive task lighting, pinpoint
accenting, and other dramatic effects. Often they are low voltage,
but some halogens use standard line current.
Is there a downside? A halogen bulb gets very hot, and it must
be used in fixtures specifically designed and approved for it.
The bulbs can be pricey and awkward to handle, and specialized
bulbs used in some fixtures can be hard to find. And even though
halogen bulbs burn “white” at full throttle, they
still turn a warmish yellow, like incandescents, when dimmed.
|
 MR-16 AND MR-11 (MULTI-REFLECTOR)
BULBS create the tightest beams. Originally made for
movie projectors, these tiny bulbs journeyed to residential
use via museum and display lighting, allowing fixture sizes
to shrink dramatically. These halogens are used extensively in today’s discreet
low-voltage downlights, low-voltage tracks, modern pendants,
and whimsical cable lights.
MR-16 and MR-11 bulbs come in a wattage range from 20 to 75
and also in a broad spread of beam patterns, including very
narrow spot, narrow spot, narrow flood, flood, and wide flood.
Perhaps in a nod to their original use, these bulbs tend to
be given their own three-letter abbreviation system instead
of the standard wattage/shape/size/spread code of other bulbs.
For example, an EZX bulb is a 20-watt MR-16 with a 7-degree
spot pattern. The same bulb with a 40-degree flood pattern is
called a BAB! |
 PAR (PARABOLIC ALUMINIZED
REFLECTOR) BULBS are bigger and punchier than MR-16s;
choose them when you need a longer reach and wider coverage.
Sizes range from PAR-20 to PAR-38 and wattages from 35 to 250.
The large sweep in available wattage reflects the fact that
some PAR bulbs are low-voltage, while other, larger ones are
standard line voltage. The popular PAR-36 bulbs are low-voltage
only, while PAR-38s are standard voltage.
Like MR-11s and MR-16s, PAR bulbs come in a variety of beam
patterns, from very narrow spot through very wide flood. Oblong-
or ovoid-shaped patterns are also available.
Some PAR bulbs, particularly low-voltage PAR-36 bulbs, can produce
a hum – especially when dimmed. One solution is to install
low-voltage fixtures with remote external rather than integral
transformers and place the transformers outside the actual living
space.
|
 HALOGEN SPECIALTY BULBS, from
tube shapes to tiny Christmas lights, complete a host of halogen
fixtures from torcheres and pendants to high-intensity task
lamps and under-cabinet strips. Heat buildup can be a problem
here, so be sure to use the exact bulb specified for the fixture.
XENON BULBS are new, cooler-burning
spin-offs of halogen. Their tiny size and extra-long life
span make them naturals for strip-light applications. They’re
great for small, recessed display lights and under-cabinet
task fixtures. Also look for xenon in hard-to-reach built-ins
such as coves and soffits.
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