LED Light Bulbs, Incandescent Lamps, and Halogens — Which One Is Best?

If you’ve been weighing the pros and cons of a lighting retrofit for your home, you may have found yourself wondering what kind of light bulb to choose. At present, there are 3 primary lighting technologies to choose from:

• Incandescent light bulbs
• Halogen lamps
• Light-emitting diode (LED) lamps

Knowing the difference between these lighting technologies will help you make an informed decision on what to do for your retrofit—one that involves your intended applications and budget. In this guide, we look at what you get from each lighting option.

1. Incandescent Light Bulbs

The incandescent light bulb is perhaps the most well known light bulb in the world. It’s also the oldest and most inefficient, using more electricity to generate heat instead of light. Much like a space heater, an incandescent light bulb runs an electric current through a tungsten wire, which is heated to create a glow—light.

The problem with this process is that it also generates a tremendous amount of wasted heat; the brighter the incandescent bulb, the hotter it gets.

Quick facts:

• Incandescent light bulbs typically have a lifespan of only 1,200 hours
• They generate a warm yellow glow
• They use a tungsten filament that tends to be fragile and prone to burning out
• They generate significant levels of ultraviolet and infrared light, which can damage fabrics and artwork

2. Halogen Lamps

Halogen lamps are essentially incandescent light bulbs with a number of improvements. They still use a tungsten filament, but they’ve been engineered to have halogen gas, which mixes with the tungsten vapor to deposit itself back into the filament instead of coating the inside of the glass bulb.

In turn, this process makes the filament last longer, extending the bulb’s lifespan. The addition of quartz envelope (instead of glass) allows the lamp to withstand much higher temperatures to generate more light.

Quick facts:

• The pleasant glow of a halogen lamp makes them popular as flood lights and spot lights
• They generate incredible amounts of wasted heat to generate light; they get hot enough to cause burns upon touch
• Halogens last about 3 times longer than incandescent bulbs (3,600 hours)
• The filament inside a halogen lamp is still fragile and prone to burning out
• Because they’re built to withstand higher temperatures, halogen lamps can generate higher color temperatures (closer to natural sunlight) at brighter levels

3. Light-Emitting Diodes (LEDs)

 LED light bulbs are the newest and most energy-efficient light solution on the market today. Using semiconductor technology, each bulb features multiple LED chips that create a powerful light with very little wasted heat. In addition, LEDs are remarkably long-lasting, running well beyond 15,000 hours. This combination of efficiency and longevity has made LEDs an ideal option for a variety of applications, from home, office, and industrial lighting, to automobile, commercial, and landscape lighting.

Quick facts:

• LEDs are long-lasting because they dissipate heat effectively—most LED bulbs come with a heat sink to improve heat dissipation
• Although LEDs are more expensive than other lighting technologies, their energy efficiency allows you to eventually recoup your initial investment
• LEDs use up to 80% less energy than incandescent lamps, and 75% less energy than halogen lamps
• LEDs generate a wide variety of color temperatures, making them suitable for practically any lighting application

When weighing your options for a lighting retrofit, think about your intended applications and desired lighting effect. This should help guide your decision.