Desk Lamps That Will Make A Statement
It has to be said that, when it comes to choosing a desk lamp, halogen lighting is truly fit for purpose. Having made such a bold statement, it also has to be said that, whilst halogen lamps do indeed have many advantages, this form of illumination is surrounded by many myths, which this article aims to dispel.
The first thing we must do is clear up a common misunderstanding – just as with traditional light bulbs, halogen bulbs are incandescent bulbs. With the growing tendency to call to traditional light bulbs ‘incandescent bulbs’, this simple fact is in danger of being lost. In very simple terms, both types of lamp work on the principle of running an electric current through a thin filament until it glows. In traditional bulbs, combustion is prevented because the glass of the bulb keeps oxygen away from the glowing filament.
Clips Black Desk Lamp £45.89 +vat
In halogen lamps, the filament is housed within a glass envelope and surrounded by a mixture of inert gas and halogen. The result is that the filament burns brighter, hotter and for longer. The downside of this is an increased running temperature, which means that halogen lamps should no longer be the first choice for inset ceiling and wall lights. This is because they back into a small enclosed space, which makes them a potential fire hazard.
Another characteristic that some people see as a disadvantage is the lack of the rosy glow that comes from traditional light bulbs. When it comes to task lighting, however, a rosy glow is far less essential than clear illumination.
And this, of course, is the crux of the matter – the characteristics of light produced by halogen lamps are very different from the light we have grown used to. It is not cosy, it is not soft focus, it is not good general illumination; it is clean, it is white, it is directable – it is ideal task lighting.
Not only is this light brighter and whiter, it is also much closer to the daylight spectrum, therefore rendering colours more accurately and minimizing the risk of eye strain.
Because of the brightness, halogen lamps must be shaded. The Benefit of a shaded halogen lamp is that you can use the shade to direct the light where you need it. In the case of a halogen desk lamp, the illumination falls onto your paperwork and is not dissipated around the rest of the room.
The most regularly cited advantage of halogen lights is their long life. The fact is, if you turned on your halogen desk lamp today and left it on, day and night, it would run considerably longer than a standard light bulb before failing. And amazingly, it would do all of that on just 20% of the energy used by a standard bulb.
Halogen desk lamps, it would seem, are the ideal way to appreciate the advantages of this modern light source, without experiencing any of the disadvantages.
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Tags: desk lamp, desk lamps, desk light, desk lighting
