The Differences Between Halogen & Fluorescent Lights

Halogen provides bright, intense light.

The differences between halogen and fluorescent lights include the amount of light they produce and their economy. The differences are not slight, and halogen lights have a wider range of uses.

Light Intensity

Fluorescent tubes provide soft, even lighting.

Halogen lights produce a bright, clean and intense light that brightens colors. Fluorescent lights provide a soft and even light.

Economy

More expensive halogen lights use more electricity and operate at high temperatures. Lower priced fluorescent lights run cooler and use very little electricity.

Uses

Decorator and novelty lamps use halogen bulbs for intensity, as do floodlights, studio and stage lighting and spotlights. Fluorescent tubes light kitchens, offices and large work areas.

Halogen Theory

A halogen bulb operates like a normal incandescent bulb, with a tungsten filament that gets white hot. The addition of halogen gas allows the filament to burn brighter, hotter and longer.

Fluorescent Theory

Fluorescent lights do not burn at all. The electricity makes mercury vapor molecules hit a phosphorescent coating on the inside of the tube causing it to glow with a cool, even light.

Size

Halogen bulbs range from the size of a pinto bean to a 10-inch tube, half an inch in diameter. Fluorescent bulbs range from a coiled tube the size of a baseball to a 4-foot tube an inch in diameter.

References

• How Halogen Works
• Ballast and Fluorescent Tube FAQs