# Incandescent/Halogen/Neodymium basking bulbs



## antcherry88 (Mar 28, 2011)

I'm searching for some information on these different types of basking bulb. 

I currently use an incandescent 60W spot bulb (from B and Q) for the bearded dragons in 4x2x2 vivs which work absolutely fine.

Are there any advantages (or disadvantages) in changing to a halogen/neodymium bulb? I.e. energy saving, life of the bulb, UVA output.

Do halogen/neodymium bulbs emit similar heat to an equivalent wattage incandescent bulb? Do they have similar or varying effects on ambient temps?


Via the poll I'd be interested to know which type of bulb people use (for any species requiring a basking spot).


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## Arcadiajohn (Jan 30, 2011)

Just some quick points with regard to energy efficacy.

Any tungsten based filament lamp, either spot or neo type lamp will never be as efficient as halogen. This is. Multiple faced issue.

Firstly, spot lamps are not ideal for dimmers. If you use a tungsten based lamp via a dimmer as it heats and cools constantly it wears through the filament. This will then cause the Lamp to fail rapidly. So you end up buying many lamps over a period.

Second. Halogen heat lamps from the right design have a very thick, internal metal reflector. This again like u.v tubes harnesses all of the heat and light and throws the light forwards. This stops most of the light and heat being wasted from the back of the lamp. Heat rises!

Thirdly halogen based lamps burn alot hotter. So you can use a lower power lamp to create hotter temperatures. 

So if you use say a 100w tungsten, you could use a 50w halogen. This will save 50w. 

So buy using the right halogen you end up buying less lamps, the lamps can be of a lower wattage and as they heat up so quickly the stat will be on a lot less. So you save money in all cases.

I hope that's helpful

John.


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## Nix (Jan 23, 2008)

Other - I use a metal halide bulb - mega ray for heat and UV  The heat is a by product but does the job nicely!


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## peterf (Jul 27, 2007)

Arcadiajohn said:


> Firstly, spot lamps are not ideal for dimmers. If you use a tungsten based lamp via a dimmer as it heats and cools constantly it wears through the filament. This will then cause the Lamp to fail rapidly. So you end up buying many lamps over a period


Wouldn't necessarily agree with you here John.
We have used spot lamps on dimming thermostats for many, many years now and they last pretty well and are a very effective hot spot provider at cheap price.
I have never found that dimming them reduces their life but certainly turning them on and off from cold does! 
If you take into consideration the lower cost of standard spotlamp versus a halogen lamp, then I suspect the cheaper bulb would come out on top!


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## antcherry88 (Mar 28, 2011)

John,

Thanks for the advice below. 

A quick question; what wattage halogen bulb would you recommend to replace a standard 60W tungsten spot bulb?



Arcadiajohn said:


> Just some quick points with regard to energy efficacy.
> 
> Any tungsten based filament lamp, either spot or neo type lamp will never be as efficient as halogen. This is. Multiple faced issue.
> 
> ...


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## Arcadiajohn (Jan 30, 2011)

A 50w will be more than adequate, you will find that the lamp is on alot less if you use a stat. They heat so quickly and so efficiently we measured a big drop in consumption by swapping from a 100w spot to a 75w halogen. It works the same with the lower wattages,

John.




antcherry88 said:


> John,
> 
> Thanks for the advice below.
> 
> A quick question; what wattage halogen bulb would you recommend to replace a standard 60W tungsten spot bulb?


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## antcherry88 (Mar 28, 2011)

John, thanks for your advice.



Arcadiajohn said:


> A 50w will be more than adequate, you will find that the lamp is on alot less if you use a stat. They heat so quickly and so efficiently we measured a big drop in consumption by swapping from a 100w spot to a 75w halogen. It works the same with the lower wattages,
> 
> John.


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