What is Light Bulb Heat Temperature Chart? – How Hot Can a Light Bulb Be?

what-is-light-bulb-heat-temperature-chart

The light bulb heat temperature chart is not exactly as it sounds when you first hear about it. What it is, contains specific information devoted to Kelvin color temperature. Kelvin is a unit of temperature and was first introduced by William Thomson in 1848. Since then, it has been a regular reference to the color temperatures used for grading light bulb color. These color charts often include the standard Kelvin temperature that ranges between 1000-10,000K. They are a visual reference that you can look at a glance to see where the specific light temperature is rated.

At each of the temperature ratings, a specific form of light can be connected to that Kelvin level. Light bulbs especially are listed on these charts to show their level of brightness and warmness. Since these are all-natural light colors that we can see in the daytime, it won’t add ultra-violet or infrared. More importantly, these light bulb heat temperature charts are used as part of the information that is given for incandescent, LED, and fluorescent lights. They are not limited to include mercury vapor, halogen, metal halide, or high-pressure sodium lights.

Applications of the light bulb heat temperature chart

high-temperature-chart-of-light-bulbThis is where it starts to get creative. Especially for the interior designer who is responsible for creating an environment. Most of us who do our own home decorating don’t know what these charts are for. Here is an honest break-down of how they can work. The color temperature chart you want to look for should have the right application for your lighting needs. A chart that shows both the combination of moods and applicable places for the lights is helpful. Just like Disney Imagineers, lights play an important role in the perfect setting and mood on their theme park rides. This is all done through color temperature and plenty of magic for sure.

These color charts allow you to decide on the kind of mood you want to create. Is it warm and friendly, or is it clean and efficient? You might want your bedroom to be intimate and personal instead of hospital lighting. Then again, your home office should be friendly- so crisp lighting might put-off clients who visit. It’s all up to the ambiance and feels that these color charts can allow you to create.

Importance of using a light bulb heat temperature chart

Getting more into the psychology of lighting and mood control, it’s important that heat temperature levels hit a nerve. The whole point you want to say about yourself depends on how you use the chart to your advantage. It can convey your message, enhance the moment, or highlight your professionalism Have you ever noticed that restaurant lighting is all about mood? Or how about those furniture stores that still have a showroom floor. That intent can influence your mood which helps sell products and services easier.

There are more added effects thrown-in that aren’t light temperature related, yet the point we visually see first is the lighting. What we see on the chart is helpful for basic needs, sort of a menu for picking the best-suited light applications. Those who are more creative can take it much further using a lighting formula of their own. Once learning how the color temperature chart works, choosing the correct light bulb is a snap. A chart that lists your mood or warm feeling will directly tell you which Kalvin temperature to pick.

Why is heat produced from light bulbs?

heat-produced-from-light-bulbLight bulbs are a funny invention that is somewhat outdated for the waste that it causes. The incandescent bulb invented in the 1880s is perhaps the oldest that we still use to this day. Due to the filament and gases that are used in these bulbs, they waste more in radiated heat! The actual light that is produced is less than the heat it’s known for. It gives off 90% of heat from a tiny filament that burns hotter than your kitchen toaster does.

All the heat that burns inside the bulb can be dangerous but in general, is a common nuisance. You’ll notice that too many incandescent lights on in a room begin to get uncomfortable really quick. Other wasteful bulbs include fluorescent, halogen, mercury vapor, metal halide, and high-pressure sodium lights. All of them use different mediums for burning or electrifying a gas, and all are guilty of creating heat. The only kind of light that produces the least amount of heat is the modern LED. These are the only ones that have a built-in heat sink that radiates heat away from the light source.

How much heat does a light bulb give off?

Depending on the kind of bulb that you decide to purchase, they might end up getting hot. At least to some degree, the heat that comes from the bulbs themselves is either higher or lower. Also, the brand you buy will affect the heat issue. Import light bulbs can be hotter due to cheap manufacturing. And certainly, the type of bulb you buy will determine heat issues. Incandescent lights are the hottest of the bunch. These can range from 50-250F starting with a 15 watt up to a 150 watt. The higher the wattage can radiate higher heats as a result.

The second in this list includes the fluorescent bulbs that follow a similar pattern of getting hot. Not quite as hot as incandescent, yet are still putting off heat. You can expect as much as 30% of the heat comes from fluorescent bulbs that can reach 50-60F for a 60-watt bulb. The winner of the day is certainly LED light bulbs without a doubt. These bulbs have a built-in heat sink at the base which draws heat away from the semiconductor. The main heat never reaches the outer shell entirely. Try touching one that’s been on for an hour and it’s warm to the touch. The base is designed to catch most of the heat and dissipates quickly.

How Hot Can A Light Bulb Be?

incandescent-light-bulb-heat-temperature-chartFrom my earliest age, I still remember my older brother asking me the same rhetorical question. He would ask: “How long is a piece of string? -and my question was thus answered. I knew the answer was ‘as long as I want it to be’, but since you have to ask… I aim to answer those kinds of questions here too. Since light bulbs can get hot, perhaps we’ll all find out those answers you thought were too rhetorical to ask.

1. How much heat does a 60-watt bulb produce?

The standard go-to light bulb that is good for lighting nearly any room, but not overdoing it. Just for the sake of comparison, I will be looking at incandescent, fluorescent and LED lights for heat differences. Firstly, the 60-watt bulb can get up to 200F on the glass surface. The fluorescent 60 watt works differently to produce light, so only 30% of heat is produced. With a standard bulb, you’ll have 90% that’s typically emitted. The fluorescent bulb will be warm to the touch between 50-60 Fahrenheit. And if we look at the 60 watt LED, it can produce 3000K in color temperature (equal to 800 Lumens). LED bulbs do not produce much heat because of a heat sink built in their base. An LED light just doesn’t get hot at all.

2. How much heat does a 25-watt bulb give off?

These particular incandescent bulbs are not major heating dangers for the most part. They give up merely 25 Watts of heat per hour that is nearly 90% of their power is wasted in heat. You can expect that the surface temperature is going to be a mild 70F at best. Mostly all of the 25-watt bulbs are used as accent bulbs for decoration. It is best for soft lighting to fit the mood of a room. The decorative lamp on a desk will use these bulbs often enough.

3. How much heat does 150 watts bulb get up to?

The higher the wattage with incandescent bulbs is where you must pay attention to heating issues. Remember that toy called the ‘easy-bake oven’, well it used a 100-watt bulb to cook little cookies and cakes! That’s how dangerous we’re talking. The 150 watts can produce up to 250F of radiating surface heat. No wonder they stopped making that toy oven! Not only that, you must wait 10 minutes before touching the bulb after it’s turned off. The glass and ceramic base retain much of the heat that’s built up.

4. How much heat does 40 watts bulb emit?

If you consider that the 40-watt bulb is a nice low-range bulb that is perfect for lower energy consumption. The filament itself will reach an astounding 2200 Celsius, however, the argon gas inside the bulb prevents it from burning out. The highest temperature you’ll find in a 40-watt bulb is only 115F. This is still pretty hot for such a low wattage bulb. This is enough to get burned if you’re not careful, so use caution where you place these bulbs.

5. How much heat does 15-watt bulb radiate?

Here’s the pip-squeak of the bunch, but it is it too easy to overlook that this tiny little bulb might get hot? Think again. We’ll also delve into some comparing with other bulbs likewise. While the 15-watt bulb only produces 105 Lumens, it still heats up to a respectable 50 Fahrenheit. You can touch it and not get burned in the process. Think of how hot those old-style outdoor Christmas lights would get, not much. Compare this to the fluorescent 15 watts and those bulbs won’t even be warm to the touch. Meanwhile, the LED 15-watt bulb still packs a value worth 900 Lumens, LED’s don’t produce heat at this wattage.

Is an Infrared Lamp Safe?

infrared-heat-lampIf you don’t know already, the infrared incandescent lamp is produced to create heat. The color spectrum of Infrared is a lot closer to radar, television and radio waves. Unlike Gamma or X-rays, the infrared spectrum doesn’t penetrate below or pass through our skin. That’s why infrared is used to treat skin conditions, warm babies, and keep your Denny’s Moons Over My Hammy warm. Sadly, infrared radiation is dangerous for the eyes. Solarium treatments offer protective goggles that shield the eyes for this reason. Infrared lamps do get hot, needless to say, they can burn the skin if they’re too close for too long.

Is it safe to touch the hot light bulbs?

What did Mom say- don’t touch that, It’s Hot! Of course, you have to be careful when any light bulb is hot. Especially incandescent and halogen bulbs. Even heat lamps are hot. There are two others that I will be addressing in this section including LED and fluorescent bulbs. To be honest, anything above 20 watts is asking for trouble. Incandescent lights use a filament to produce a burning light inside a vacuum bulb filled with argon gas. The higher the wattage, the hotter it will become. With fluorescent bulbs, the same can apply though heat is less with only 30% being emitted. As for LED, you can bet that they are the safest for being the coolest out of the bunch.

What color light bulb produces the most heat?

Among all of the colors that can produce heat from an incandescent bulb, you might think that infrared is the hottest. One that’s above a spectrum we can’t see is hot enough to burn your skin from 2 meters away! This color light is called ultra-violet and is commonly used at tanning salons. The heat exposure from this type of light can damage the skin slowly -but surely. As a bonus, if you like the color as an option- the heat lamp is typically colored red. These heat lamps produce up to 110 with just a 40-watt bulb. Now imagine what the 150 watts could get up to?

Can I use the light bulb to heat a room?

You might have heard your parents tell you to turn off the lights more than once. It was likely that they didn’t want to waste electricity for that matter. In the case of lights heating a room, I can tell you that a trip to the lighting section at any home improvement center will answer that quickly. Yes, incandescent lights and halogen lights indeed produce heat. The more lights you have, the faster a small room can heat up quickly. Then again is it possible for only a single bulb to heat-up one room? It will not raise the temperature not much more than 2-3F from any standard incandescent bulb.

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