LED lighting is capable of replacing many different types of lighting. But can LED replace halogen? LED vs halogen is a good place to start if you are trying to figure out if LED can replace halogen. The important things to keep in mind is that the goals are to save energy and save money.
Halogen Lighting Uses
LED vs halogen can help you decide if it is worth the money to switch to LED lighting in as many places as possible or stick with halogen. There was a time when cars used halogen lighting instead of LED lighting for headlights. Of course, many newer cars already switched to LED lighting. But you may still come across some cars with halogen lighting. Halogen lighting is also used under cabinets, work lights, spotlights, and flood lights. As you can see, there are still plenty of uses for halogen lighting. The question is, can LEDs be more efficient in these areas than halogen lighting already is?
What is Halogen Lighting
Halogen lighting is a technology that was meant to enhance the lighting found in incandescent bulbs. In fact, halogen lighting works similarly to incandescent in that they push an electrical current through a tungsten filament. The filament heats up and creates light inside a quartz capsule that is filled with iodine and bromine gases. Those gases enhance the light making it brighter, stronger, and hotter. That means that halogen bulbs are like a subset of incandescent bulbs.
LED Lighting
LED lights operate very differently than halogen bulbs. How it works is amazingly simple. An LED is a small diode that creates light when an electric current passes through. Think of it like a reflector of electricity. The diode is made of a semiconducting material that emits photons when electricity passes over it. Photons are light. This is vastly different from an incandescent bulb because there is no need for the electricity to heat up a filament. Instead, the electricity passes through and bounces around keeping the light going.
LED vs Halogen Lighting
The common thread when comparing LED bulbs to any other form of lighting, especially incandescent bulbs is the heat factor. That heat makes other electronics nearby it, work harder to stay cool and wastes a lot of energy. That means that if a bulb creates too much heat, it is wasting energy and that is why LED bulbs are superior to even halogen bulbs. We use halogen bulbs to create a bright enough light for the tasks we need light for.
However, halogen bulbs only last for up to 2,000 hours, produce infrared light, need to be turned off for at least a few minutes before touching, and are very fragile. LED bulbs can last for up to 25,000 hours, use 80% less energy than halogen, are more durable, and require no time at all to touch after being turned on. These things make LED vs halogen easier to understand. LED bulbs are the superior choice.