Why you shouldn't touch halogen light bulbs with your hands

Halogen light bulbs are a modified version of classic incandescent light bulbs. They appeared relatively recently, but managed to quickly gain popularity. Their advantages are that they emit bright light, are environmentally friendly, consume a small amount of electricity, are low in cost and are widely used for lighting residential premises, streets and as headlights for car headlights.

But the variety of shapes and models can be confusing, so you need to know what the product is and what nuances the “halogen” has.

Features of halogen bulbs

The design of halogen lamps is similar to the structure of standard incandescent lamps: a bulb made of glass, an incandescent body, and a base. Their main difference is that during manufacture the flask is pumped with gas. It could be bromine or iodine. Filling with gas made it possible to significantly increase the service life of the device.

The principle of operation of the device is that when you turn it on, the tungsten filament begins to heat up. This releases tungsten vapor. But the inert gases inside the flask prevent the vapor from settling on the walls of the product, so the light bulb emits bright light.

There is a wide range of halogen lamps on the market. So that you can make the right choice, we recommend that you first study their main characteristics.This will help you choose a device with the optimal radiation level, power, and the desired type of base.

The main parameters are:

1. Type of base. Without knowing this characteristic, you will not be able to select a halogen lamp. The base of these models consists of two pins, as indicated by the corresponding marking - G.
2. Power. The value of this characteristic, depending on the type of lamp, can vary: linear - 100–1500 W, low-voltage capsule with G4 base - 10–35 W, capsule with other holder options - 35–50 W, halogen with reflector - 25–50 Tue
3. Flask shape. It can be classic in the form of a pear, linear in the form of a candle, spherical, parabolic and other shapes.
4. Colorful temperature. The color temperature of halogen lamps ranges from 2700 to 3000 Kelvin. This value allows you to obtain the most comfortable lighting for human eyes.

When organizing lighting, we strive to select the most suitable light sources. To do this, you need to determine which type of them is optimal. If you know their main advantages and disadvantages, this will be quite simple.

Positive features:

• High color rendering index. Thanks to this parameter, the device does not distort the color.
• The luminous flux has high intensity.
• Long service life. Halogen bulbs will last you twice as long as standard incandescent bulbs.
• Large selection of models according to base and power options.

There are also plenty of disadvantages:

• They cannot tolerate frequent power surges.
• They heat up, so they cannot be installed in a suspended or suspended ceiling.
• If dust or dirt accumulates on the bulb, the device will fail.
• Must be disposed of correctly.
• You should not touch the flask with your hands - we will talk about this below and explain how to change the device correctly.

Why shouldn't you touch them?

Even if you wash your hands every half hour, germs, microparticles of dirt, pieces of epithelium and fat will still accumulate on them. If you touch the bulb of a halogen light bulb with your hands, these particles fall on its surface.

When the device heats up, dust, dirt and grease under the influence of high temperature leave dark spots on the surface. Due to damage, the heating temperature index becomes heterogeneous. As a result, flickering and other defects appear that lead to breakdown.

The flask of the device is made of quartz. This material has a tendency to crystallize. Under normal conditions, this process takes a long time. But under the influence of high temperatures (and in a halogen they reach 1000 degrees), it proceeds faster. This leads to the appearance of microcracks, which accelerates failure.

Reference. If your halogen lamp fails, do not throw it away with the rest of the trash. The flask contains harmful volatile substances. Therefore, the light bulb must be taken to a special collection point.

How to change a halogen lamp correctly

Knowing that you should not touch the light bulb with your hands, you may ask a logical question: how to install it. There are several recommendations to help you with this:

1. Before taking the halogen lamp, wrap it in a soft cloth or put gloves on your hands. It is worth keeping in mind that they must be rag.
2. You can try installing the light bulb without removing it from the box.
3. Some people adapt to mount the product by holding it by the base.

If you purchased a high-quality light source from a trusted brand, you can find information on installing a halogen lamp on the packaging. Following the manufacturer's recommendations and careful handling will allow you to obtain high-quality lighting and extend the life of the products.