Led or halogen ?

Which should I choose, LEDs or halogens? LEDs are so expensive. A familiar struggle?

The price, luminous efficacy, and reliability of LED lights are now better than ever. Why would you still buy an old, energy-consuming halogen lamp? No more constant changing of bulbs or expensive electricity bills! The color rendering index of LED lights is good and there are various features to choose from. You can choose either warm or neutral white light, and in most cases, dimming is also possible.

EDIT: The sale of halogen lamps has ended due to the implementation of the new Energy label.

Led or halogen?

Halogen lamp	LED luminaire
Lamp life 2500 hours	Lamp life 50000 hours
Age of the lamp 1X	Age of the lamp 25X
Lamp temperature 250°C	Lamp temperature max. 50°C
Power consumption 50W (5.5X)	Power consumption 9W (1X)
Luminous Flux @ 1m 500 Lux	Luminous Flux @ 1m 600 Lux
Luminous Eff. 12 lumens/w	Luminous Eff. 90 lumens/w
Light colour only one	Light colour Several options
Persistence of light hue Poor	Light hue stability Good
UV or IR radiation Yes	UV or IR radiation No
Heavy metals Yes	Heavy metals No
Impact resistant No	Impact resistant Yes
Purchase price Cheap	Purchase price Expensive
Long-term price Expensive	Long term price Affordable

6 biggest advantages of LED lights compared to Halogen

Temperature

Halogen spots produce too much heat (> 250°C), which damages the objects they illuminate.
It is clear that these temperatures can be dangerous if the lamp comes into contact with skin or flammable materials.
The effect of temperature must be taken into account, especially when illuminating art or in a small space.
The average temperature of the LED is only 70°C. The lamps are safe to handle and will not burn your fingers. In addition, less waste heat released also means less ventilation in the room, so you’re already spending money at the design and construction stage.
LED does not need expensive, unnecessary protective hoods for installation, which usually reduce the amount of insulation in the house!

Electricity bills

Halogen lights are not as energy efficient as LED spotlights.
Halogen lamps also produce IR radiation, where most of the energy is lost as heat.
For example, a 9W LED can produce light equivalent to 50-75W halogen. LEDs can produce mono light and use a collimating lens to direct the light. This way, no energy is wasted as heat. LED lights can save up to 80% on your lighting bills!

No UV radiation

Quartz filament, on which halogens are largely based, emits high levels of UV radiation, which also requires glass in the lamp and precise production and approved shielding. Check your own light bulbs!
LEDs do not emit UV radiation, so the lamp and light are safe for the skin.

Life expectancy

According to major halogen manufacturers’ catalogues, the average age of a halogen is 2500 hours (only 104 days!).
The average lifetime of LED luminaires is 50,000 hours (that’s 5 years and 8 months!). Therefore, LED reduces maintenance costs dramatically.

Wider colour temperature range (CCT) and colour selection

Halogen lights have a colour temperature between 2800 K and 3500 K depending on the manufacturer and the type of lamp. Some manufacturers manage to achieve a colour temperature of up to 4700 K.
LED offers many colour choices, including warm white (2800K – 3800K), cool white (4000K – 7000K), red, blue, green, yellow and even RGB colour mixing. In addition, LEDs retain their colour for a long time, although unlike Halogen which changes colour very quickly in use.

No passive faults

The filament in a halogen lamp is pressurised and very weak. Quartz The capsule MUST NOT be touched with bare hands, as oil and fingerprints can corrode the quartz and weaken it. At the end of its life, the filament inside the coil of the capsule may touch the quartz and melt into it while it is still hot. This event can even shatter a halogen lamp.
Thanks to LED soldering technology, the LED is not fragile or contains no moving parts, making the luminaire robust, shock-resistant, and safe to touch.

Led or halogen?

Halogen lamp

LED luminaire