Cold beam lamps redirect heat away from the light beam using a dichroic reflector, making them useful for illuminating heat-sensitive objects. However, they can be dangerous in some applications due to the potential fire hazard. LED lamps are a safer alternative and can produce cooler light.
A cold beam lamp is a type of light designed to redirect its heat away from the light beam. These lamps can still create as much waste heat as regular lamps, but their design allows them to vent heat to the sides or behind the bulb. This is typically achieved with a dichroic reflector that can reflect visible light while allowing infrared light to pass through. This can result in a substantially cooler light beam which can be useful in applications where there is a need to illuminate a heat sensitive object.
A dichroic reflector works by reflecting a particular spectrum of light while allowing all other light to pass through. Reflectors and dichroic filters are useful in a variety of different applications, from theater work and 3D movies to jewelry. In the case of cold beam lights, they are designed to reflect the visible spectrum of light through the front of the lamp while the invisible infrared light passes and exits through the back of the lamp.
An early use of cold beam lamps was in slide projectors. Since the light source in a slide projector is typically very close to the slide, using a cold beam can help avoid the risk of damaging the slide. Most halogen lamps in many different applications now use dichroic technology. Lamps with this design can be found in both residential and commercial applications. The light from a cold beam lamp is typically characterized by being colder and whiter than that from other lamps.
While cold beam lamps can be useful for situations where you need to illuminate a heat sensitive object, they can be dangerous in some other uses. Many recessed lights can be a fire hazard when used with a cold beam lamp. This is because infrared heat energy passing through the back of the lamp can be trapped within the recess, creating high temperatures and posing a potential fire hazard. Although most halogen lamps use dichroic reflectors, specialty bulbs are also usually available for applications such as these.
An alternative to cold beam lamps in applications where they can be dangerous is the light emitting diode (LED) lamp. These bulbs can produce an even cooler light than a halogen bulb and are safe to install in recessed lighting applications. LED lamps are also usually available in a variety of different designs to fit various incandescent bulbs, including halogen lamps. They are usually much more expensive than their incandescent counterparts, but can last much longer.
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