# 500W Halogen Flood Lamp LED Bulb



## J.McDonald Knives

Does anyone know if there is a direct replacement LED drop in that is for the 500W Halogen Flood Lamps? I'm getting tired of buying replacement bulbs and LED would be so much brighter. If there is one out there please post a link, thanks guys and gals.


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## jtr1962

I doubt it. The thermal path from a replacement lamp fitting the 500W halogen form factor would be extremely poor.

I'm in the same boat. There's a pair of 300W halogen outdoor lamps which burned out last year after a relatively short amount of use. Strangely enough, one I installed 18 years ago is still going strong (and I'm glad of it because it's 12 feet up, so lamp replacement isn't exactly easy). Anyway, while no direct replacements exist, it struck me that this might be a good DIY project. The aluminum enclosure for 300W/500W halogen lamps is a pretty decent size and should offer reasonable heat sinking. I'd estimate I could get away with maybe 25-30 watts of thermal dissipation. If I go with something like XM-Ls running at 1.5 amp (~30% light, 70% heat), then that's about 40 watts of LEDs ( or maybe about 9 LEDs running at 1.5 amps). At ~100 lm/W, I have 4000 lumens. This is less than the ~6000 rated lumens of the halogen lamp, but since it's all focused forwards, light levels should be about the same. Only obvious downside is cost, which would probably run ~$100 per lamp counting the driver. Since gardening season is starting, I'll see if I can scrape together the cash in the next few weeks. If I do something which turns out reasonable, I'll be happy to start a thread on it.

In the meantime, I'm sure others here will probably also give you the same advice-DIY. This isn't a terribly complex project. If done right, it could result in a lamp which lasts for decades.


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## monkeyboy

Certainly wouldn't work as a dropin, but there are 100W LED floodlights available on ebay that could match the output of a 500W Halogen. Not allowed to post ebay links here but just go onto ebay and search for "100W LED floodlight".

Not cheap though. I doubt you would ever recoup the cost in the long run.


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## JohnR66

Bridgelux has single LED array solutions that go to 7,900 lumens at 60 Deg. C (case temp). It would require a driver heatsink and perhaps some case mods to an aluminum halogen fixture. As the others have stated, probably no high brightness drop-in.


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## monkeyboy

Some of the ready built floodlights on ebay are using the brigelux


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## Bournejan

Hi , i'm agree with that 4000lm is enough to replace 500W halogen. Because 500W halogen have 360degree output of light. LED most don't over 140degree. So the effective light is same for both of the two light sources. I learn much led knowlege from ledlightfeight. We could ask them for led replacement.


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## degarb

You really should have at least ~30,000 lumens for something like painting. Getting three $10 (500W) halogens to do this is easy. But pop, pop, pop, better buy the bulbs in bulk online or at Harbor freight. Normally, it can get expensive and tiresome buying the replacements one at a time at Lowes or HD.

Semiman and many others are making truly high powered LED powered lights (from online parts), but until they do at least 300 watt/30,000lumen lights for a reasonable price, I am not awake yet. But I think in about 3 years, someone will come out with a led light bright enough to get my attention. I don't think the parts are cheap enough to build such a light under $300 (a $30 halogen replacement). 

My solution for now: 1 large bookbag $30, 1 400watt HID (hangalight 35 to 40,000 lumens) $130, 1 Lowell Tota ($130 or less online) (650 watt 25,000 lumens/super small and lightweight), 1 $10 halogen (very small and lightweight), 1 gfci and three 12 foot cords. Stuff all in bag = sub $300 70,000 lumens of portable fixed light. 

So, do I think 4,000 lumen enough? No. Not any more than a 10 lumen flashlight is enough light.

Not only is price per lumen important, but also is weight and volume per lumen. This is why the 38 lpw Lowell Tota is so useful: half the size of a shoe box and likely half a pound = 25,000 lumens. The $10 (standless) halogen, is mostly used as a means to use extra juice the circuit can handle (because of size and cost, nearly invisible to the bag's heft.) Using the inverse square principle, either the tota or the halogen can out lux the the HID. However, make no mistake: the 400 watt hid does win for output and lux.


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## Anders Hoveland

LED lamps with higher light outputs are expensive. I have bought a 100 watt LED chip before, and there are some 200 watt LED chips available (but this is probably not an advisable way to go for a few reasons I will not get into here). With LED, in general, more lumens is very much correlated to higher cost. If you need a high intensity light source, discharge lamps are the way to go. 

I would ideally like to recommend a sulfur plasma lamp but this technology is not widely available. Sulfur lamps actually have a very full and even spectrum of light, but this is not reflected in the CRI (80-85) because the light is a bit greenish tinged overall. If I remember correctly, an LP sulfur lamp costs around 2000 dollars new, though you might be able to find a used one for around 1400. They have a _very_ long lifetime, especially if the parts are reserviced.
http://www.plasmabright.com/psh0731b.asp#

I am not sure how important the quality of light is for your painting. Personally, I love the warm glow of halogen worklights, even if they can sometimes be glareful. 

Metal halide may be a cheaper and more practical option, I would recommend getting one with a diffusor. There are various different types of metal halide, depending on the color of light you want, and whether higher CRI is important. Ceramic metal halide is the latest variation.


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## degarb

Was it Sharp or Samsung that came out about 6 months ago with a 100 watt led that was at least 90 or 100 lpw (9000 lumens seems familiar)? I lost the bookmark. The price on the led was still about $100 (based on memory)? This led excited me the most, as it had the efficiency, and good initial price. Googling squat, lost bookmark, and memory failing me.

[Luxim quoted me about $700 for lep parts needed to build a 18000 lumen light, a few years ago. But Luxim since has been bought out. The sign of a dying lighting technology is if the price doesn't come down.... The 500 watt halogen is a sickly yellow, while the 750 Tota is much more natural (photographers light), the hir is pretty natural, but a hair green-just a touch. What I like about the small 500 watt halogens worklights is that $10 price, the size/weight/portability/replaceability. I hardly use my 1500 watt large head standed halogen-too bulky.)]


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## degarb

http://www.hero-ledstore.com/herole...d-cool-white-60006500k-8500-lumen-p-1052.html 
Closest I can find. 3 up would be useful.


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## degarb

JohnR66 said:


> Bridgelux has single LED array solutions that go to 7,900 lumens at 60 Deg. C (case temp). It would require a driver heatsink and perhaps some case mods to an aluminum halogen fixture. As the others have stated, probably no high brightness drop-in.



Now, Bridgelux has been around for a while, one would think something bright cheap and finished would be around. But doubt it.

http://www.alibaba.com/showroom/150-watt-led.html


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## Anders Hoveland

degarb said:


> The 500 watt halogen is a sickly yellow


I know I have already stated it countless times in other places in this forum, but...
If you want a good quality of light but with higher CCT, why not just use both a halogen worklight in combination with a blue (or bluish white) LED chip? 

I know if the two light sources are not behind the same diffusor, there may be some color shadow effects, but for work lighting this is not problematic at all. I have done much experimentation with this in the garage. The quality of light is quite nice, good CRI, and more neutral whitish than halogen.

This would also be much cheaper than going all LED, if 5000 of the lumens are coming from the halogen and 3000 from the LED. Another small thing to mention, higher CCT LEDs are also somewhat more efficient than yellowish white LED (since there is some efficiency loss in the phosphor). So you will be getting more lumens from your given wattage of LED, which is not irrelevant when one is considering the initial price.


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## degarb

Anders Hoveland said:


> I know I have already stated it countless times in other places in this forum, but...
> If you want a good quality of light but with higher CCT, why not just use both a halogen worklight in combination with a blue (or bluish white) LED chip?
> 
> I know if the two light sources are not behind the same diffusor, there may be some color shadow effects, but for work lighting this is not problematic at all. I have done much experimentation with this in the garage. The quality of light is quite nice, good CRI, and more neutral whitish than halogen.
> 
> This would also be much cheaper than going all LED, if 5000 of the lumens are coming from the halogen and 3000 from the LED. Another small thing to mention, higher CCT LEDs are also somewhat more efficient than yellowish white LED (since there is some efficiency loss in the phosphor). So you will be getting more lumens from your given wattage of LED, which is not irrelevant when one is considering the initial price.



Probably as price drops, only cold leds in this 100 watt power range will make sense $ wise in the next few years for Home Depot grade (sub $100) portable worklighting. This will make combining with cheap $10 halogens useful for color sensitive work. Yes, I agree overlay is not a problem for work lighting, since variety (of lux, lumen and color) is best for inspection lighting. (Painters, yes, trim electrician, no.) Though it would be wise to turn off the halogen when not needed. Make no mistake, the halogen lighting will hugely benifit (I would say, up to %90 better lighting than typical halogen alone.) by brighter, more efficient, longer lived alternatives.

Cost will determine what is combined. In future, cost effective, single-emitter 100+ watt leds will be all we need...We are in this limbo period, near a nomans land, where the answer changes with the season. My worklight experience is the $130 Hang-a-Light 400watt Metal Halide is the second best investment per dollar, after the ten dollar 500 watt halogen, for portable, non wearable lighting. (I have little love for my $75 1500 watt halogens, for a number of design flaws.) In the service industries (construction, etc.), 10,000 hours between bulb swaps is quite tolerable. Flawed and cheaply made quarts bulbs for worklights that promise 2,000 hours but pop every 100 hours, are very frustrating and costly.


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## SemiMan

40 hours/week, 48 weeks/year results in $100-150/yr. in electricity for running a 500W halogen assuming average electrical costs and escalating with time of use in some areas. That could start to justify LED floods pretty quickly, depending on your usage pattern ... not to mention no bulbs to replace, durability, etc. The quality of light may not be where you want it to be. 

Hard to argue today with MH for a ton of lumens though. Cheap, good bulb life, and efficient for the amount of light.

Semiman


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## degarb

SemiMan said:


> 40 hours/week, 48 weeks/year results in $100-150/yr. in electricity for running a 500W halogen assuming average electrical costs and escalating with time of use in some areas. That could start to justify LED floods pretty quickly, depending on your usage pattern ... not to mention no bulbs to replace, durability, etc. The quality of light may not be where you want it to be.
> 
> Hard to argue today with MH for a ton of lumens though. Cheap, good bulb life, and efficient for the amount of light.
> 
> Semiman



Cost of electric comes into play with shop lighting. Cost of gas, for industies that comes to the customer.

I (service industry) don't buy/supply the electric; the customer does. Secondly, their cost is tiny and immaterial compared with labor savings. It would be extremely foolish for them to not supply a few bucks of electric (or water), since it would cost them thousands in inferior workmanship-ratio 1:100.

I will be your first customer, when you build me that $130 triple (3up) 100 watt ac powered led worklight (>25,000 lumen, via any led configuration, really). Keep it light and small, if possible. I wouldn't be a tint snob either. Just happy. {I have wondered if used computer power supplies would help with cost.}



I am mostly interested in how much lighting I can put on a 15 amp circuit, portability, and just getting a practical/not too akward system.


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## Anders Hoveland

degarb said:


> Though it would be wise to turn off the halogen when not needed.


Yes, that is the thing. Halogen lighting makes the most sense IF you are turning it off when you are not using it. But if you are leaving it on, and do not like having to remember to turn it off, and being bothered to turn it on every time you start using it, it might not be such a practical option. If you are leaving it on all the time, you will find the bulbs quickly burning out (not to mention wasted electricity costs).

It might make more sense to just wire the halogen to a motion detector so it will automatically turn on when you are using it, and automatically turn off after 5 minutes when you are not using it. I think this may be the most economical option.

In terms of power costs, another thing to consider is that halogen lamps also act as radiant heaters. I sometimes leave a 250W halogen light on just as a little portable heater, since it can get very cold at night when I am working in the garage. This can either be potentially desirable or undesirable. 250W is not a huge ammount of heat, but it is noticeable and appreciated.

If you find it inconvenient having to frequently replace halogen tubes, there are a few things you could do. You could buy a different type of halogen lamp with a screw socket that uses halogen bulbs with an outer glass envelope. You could just use cheap energy saving halogen replacement bulbs. They also sell higher wattage industrial halogen bulbs with an outer glass envelope. While more expensive, the advantage is that it is much easier to replace the bulb, and you would not have to worry about getting finger prints on the bare exposed inner halogen capsule.

Like most people, I find it rather challenging and inconvenient to try to replace the halogen capsules in my worklight. It seems very difficult to try to jam the tube into place without breaking it, while at the same time not being able to touch it with my bare fingers. Perhaps that is your problem. I do not mean to state the obvious, but perhaps if you have been touching the halogen tubes with your bare fingers while putting them in, that could explain why they are burning out so fast. Getting finger print oils or dirt on the capsule will cause it to carbonize later under the heat, causing additional absorbtion of radiant heat, which will lead to localized overheating, sometimes rupture of the quartz capsule. There should be a warning about not toucing the capsules on the packaging. It is claimed that these dirt and oils can just be wiped off with some alcohol and a clean cloth, but this is not an ideal solution, especially if your hands were very dirty/oily to begin with.




degarb said:


> My worklight experience is the $130 Hang-a-Light 400watt Metal Halide is the second best investment per dollar, after the ten dollar 500 watt halogen, for portable, non wearable lighting. (I have little love for my $75 1500 watt halogens, for a number of design flaws.) In the service industries (construction, etc.), 10,000 hours between bulb swaps is quite tolerable. Flawed and cheaply made quarts bulbs for worklights that promise 2,000 hours but pop every 100 hours, are very frustrating and costly.


I have heard that many in the construction industry are not happy with halogen worklighting because they are not very durable. If the lamp gets bumped, hit, or dropped, it can cause the bulb to burn out (because the white hot filament is susceptible breaking under mechanical shock). The glass cover pane can also be vulnerable to breaking if dropped, and this cover is very important (to prevent moisture/dirt from getting on the inner bulb, and to filter out the UV).

Another idea might be to just use 200 watt incandescent bulbs (A21 size), possibly rough service. T10 shaped halogen bulbs (with an outer enclosure "double envelope"), and normal screw shaped base, are also available, though they can be a little expensive. Here is a 250 watt T10 medium base halogen bulb:
https://c808505.ssl.cf2.rackcdn.com...ab62915c129e9ab_original_x_323_1327653347.jpg

Because of the outer glass enclouse, no worries about oil and dirt getting on the inner capsule and prematurely shortening the bulbs life. They are typically rated to last 2000-2500 hours.

Here is a 500 watt double enveloped halogen:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0007UQ3A4/?tag=cpf0b6-20

It might be that you are not properly handeling the sensitive quartz capsule, in which case you might try buying double enveloped ones and seeing if those last longer.

Another strange thing I noticed is that operating halogen filaments in a vertical position seems to make them last much longer than when operated in the horizontal position. In the horizontal position, the hot filament quickly sags under its own weight and eventually snaps. This was the case for energy saving halogen replacement bulbs at least.


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## LilKevin715

mobiusrx7 did a DIY build that could be replicated and modified.


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## Vazodowano

Semi said:


> The first thing we need to know is the power conversion, 500W halogen can be replaced by ~40 to 80W LED. And thus you can save 92% energy at most.



Thanks for your calculation. However, how can I know the screw base is suitable for the replacement?


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