Things You Have To Follow When Handling Halogen Light Bulbs

Halogen light bulbs are widely seen around because of their versatility and efficacy compared to their incandescent ancestors. Halogen lamps are different from incandescent lamps in a few aspects like in how they operate, the materials they are made of, the brightness, and even in aspects as trivial as the shape. Let us start at the surface. The glass surface of a halogen lamp is not at all made of the typical, ordinary glass, but is made of quartz, which resists higher temperatures and can therefore be situated closer to the filament. This feature allows halogen bulbs to be smaller than the bulb hanging in your toilet. They are brighter and thus hotter than your ordinary light bulbs. These electric lamps last longer than typical incandescent bulbs because the tungsten in the filament undergoes recycling process and this prevents rapid loss of the tungsten element. This feature also retards blackening of the quartz surface. These halide containing lamps come in variety of shapes which allow them to be used in a wide array of purposes from general lighting to decorative accent purposes. Nevertheless, owners come in terms of replacing their lamps and although changing these bulbs is not specifically difficult, necessary precautions must be observed in handling these objects. Observe the following measures when handling and replacing halogen bulbs.

1) First and foremost, make sure the device is turned off or unplugged. For general safety, never touch the bulb with your naked skin because the oil on your skin is a hazardous impurity on the surface of the bulb. When the bulb gets hot, the oil attacks the surface and creates a weak spot. This leads to shortening of the life span of the light bulb. In severe cases, the weak spot may lead to bulb failure and explosion. Thus, you must wear gloves while holding the bulb. Ensure the quartz surface does not get in contact with the skin. Clean cloth or paper towel may be used.

2) Suppose the lamp has just been used and switched off, wait for a while before attempting to remove the bulb. It is advised to wait for at least fifteen minutes to allow it to cool down to room temperature. This will prevent serious burn injury. Take note that halogen light bulbs are hotter than ordinary bulbs. Once the bulb reaches its termination stage and burns out completely, then it is time to replace it. However, give ample time for it to cool and again use gloves and try as much as possible to not touch the quartz surface.

3) Remove the old busted bulb by unscrewing it from the socket just as you would remove any other light bulbs. If the old bulb is totally busted, you may hold it with your bare hands as long as you have allowed it to cool. Screw the new bulb in place with your gloved hands. Again, do not touch the bulb surface with your bare hands at any time. Turn on the power and see if the bulb lights appropriately.

The use of halogen lamps must be accompanied with safety precautions. These lamps are no typical lamps at home. They are much hotter than typical light bulbs and may cause serious burns through direct contact. Flammable materials should be kept away from direct contact with the lamp surface while turned on. Moreover, these burning lamps emit huge amounts of energy and some ultraviolet radiation. Thus, it is believed certain duration of exposure to these lights may cause symptoms like that of sunburn. Nonetheless, lots of halogen lamps have UV filtered quartz bulb surface.

Note that if at any case, you came to touch the surface of the halogen bulb, wipe the surface thoroughly with alcohol and allow it to dry completely before turning it on.

Jo is a writer for 'Litelec' (http://www.litelec.co.uk), a UK firm that specializes in the distribution of electric light bulbs, light fittings, electrical accessories and related products for domestic and commercial use which they retail at very reasonable prices. If you would like to cut down your electricity charges and also play a vital role to the protection of the national environment then start by utilizing halogen light bulbs at home and if you have further cheap light bulbs requirement then take a look at Litelec.