Greetings, all.
I've just had a close-up look at the preproduction version of the new Philips HIR2 bulb, and it looks really good. The burner is based on the latest iteration of H7 (...H8, H9, H11) architecture: a very compact, high-precision filament coil with filament supports configured so as to create a metal-free region around the filament -- this greatly improves beam focus and reduces shadows and stray light, respectively. The bulb envelope is made of quartz, and there is no IR-reflective coating on it; the very high flux and luminance with long life are achieved primarily by the filament configuration and fill gas composition and pressure, with a tubular (not spherical) bulb glass. This is a technically superior solution; that spherical glass made problems: the irridescence diffuses the light to some degree, which reduces beam focus and increases glare. Also, filament placement is super-critical; if it is not exactly in the middle of the sphere (either because of imprecise manufacture or because of filament distortion with age/usage), the IR is reflected back to empty space instead of filament metal. The Philips bulb is rated at 1875 lumens (with the usual tolerance of +/- 15% per regulation), with lifespan figures of >800 hours (B10 at 14v), 900 hours (B3), and 1400 hours (Tc). There is no blacktop on the end of the burner, so as with the previous Toshiba and GE designs, this means the new HIR2 will make glare problems if it is used in reflector optics lacking a bulb shield that completely covers at least the top half of the front of the bulb (a ring-style bulb shield that leaves the front of the bulb exposed to the lens would not be effective).
Sorry, no idea when exactly they'll be commercially available on the aftermarket; hopefully soon. The first O.E. application is slated for release in four months or so.
I've just had a close-up look at the preproduction version of the new Philips HIR2 bulb, and it looks really good. The burner is based on the latest iteration of H7 (...H8, H9, H11) architecture: a very compact, high-precision filament coil with filament supports configured so as to create a metal-free region around the filament -- this greatly improves beam focus and reduces shadows and stray light, respectively. The bulb envelope is made of quartz, and there is no IR-reflective coating on it; the very high flux and luminance with long life are achieved primarily by the filament configuration and fill gas composition and pressure, with a tubular (not spherical) bulb glass. This is a technically superior solution; that spherical glass made problems: the irridescence diffuses the light to some degree, which reduces beam focus and increases glare. Also, filament placement is super-critical; if it is not exactly in the middle of the sphere (either because of imprecise manufacture or because of filament distortion with age/usage), the IR is reflected back to empty space instead of filament metal. The Philips bulb is rated at 1875 lumens (with the usual tolerance of +/- 15% per regulation), with lifespan figures of >800 hours (B10 at 14v), 900 hours (B3), and 1400 hours (Tc). There is no blacktop on the end of the burner, so as with the previous Toshiba and GE designs, this means the new HIR2 will make glare problems if it is used in reflector optics lacking a bulb shield that completely covers at least the top half of the front of the bulb (a ring-style bulb shield that leaves the front of the bulb exposed to the lens would not be effective).
Sorry, no idea when exactly they'll be commercially available on the aftermarket; hopefully soon. The first O.E. application is slated for release in four months or so.
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