Difference Between Aluminium Coated and IRC Energy Saving Halogens
General Technical Stuff, Halogen April 26th, 2009Hi,
I am looking to reduce the heat generated in my current Down Light Fittings and cant decide between the Osram Infra Red Coated (IRC) Lamp type such as the Decostar 51 Energy Saver or the Osram Decostar 51 ALU.
I am leaning towards the Osram Decostar 51 ALU as I understand that it releases almost no heat to the rear of the lamp assembly.
Can you tell me which way I should go, also, do you sell these globes as I want around 25 of them.
many thanks
Jim
April 26th, 2009 at 1:25 pm
Hi Jim
I am not clear on where you are trying to reduce the heat from but I will cover both scenarios for you.
There is some other info on this subject here which may also be of interest
The Osram Decostar 51 ALU were mainly designed for the use in track lighting. The aluminium coating is designed so that all the heat is reflected forwards away from the light fitting. This is really important in low voltage track light heads as the transformer is mounted adjacent to the light bulb so there is a risk that the transformer getting damaged by the ambient temperature of heat created from the halogen bulb when the incorrect bulbs are used.
A standard dichroic halogen lamp operates quite differently. It allows some of the heat to penetrate through the back of the lamp. This is good for ceiling mounted lights as this means the heat escapes back into your ceiling space rather than adding the heat into into your living area which can get quite unpleasant. These MR16 low voltage halogens can burn at up to 300 degrees Celsius so we are talking about quite a lot of heat. This of course raises other issues if you are using insulation in the ceiling or if your halogen downlights have not been installed correctly (See below)
The IRC (Infra Red Coated) lamps operate slightly differently. Although they still create heat the great thing is that you can use a much smaller wattage bulb to achieve the same light. Depending on the application you could use either a 20W IRC or 35W IRC which means you get a 60% or 30% energy saving but also the same % in heat reduction.
This is why IRC is a great all round lamp as it has a long life, less heat and uses a lot less energy!
If you are trying to reduce the heat in the ceiling space and you have access to that space then you should consider the halogen downlight guards. These are now law for any new halogen installations in Australia. There is another entry about that subject here.
The NSW Fire Brigades also issued a press release in this subject due to the high number of domestic fires started by ceiling fires triggered by halogen light bulbs. They too recommend the IRC lamps.
Either way I offer both types so please let me know which one you choose and I will happy to give you a quote
Kind regards
Daniel
April 26th, 2009 at 3:44 pm
Hi Daniel,
Im going to go with the IRC type globes for now and will look at putting in downlight guards at a later date.
Can you please provide a quote for the following:
Qty 12
12 Volt
20 Watt
60 degree beam angle; and
Qty 13
12 Volt
35 Watt
60 degree beam angle.
Many thanks
Jim