How Long Should A Projector Lamp Last?

If you want to learn how to get the maximum life out of a projector lamp, then you will want to read this article. Specifically we will discuss how to extend the life expectancy of a projector lamp, especially a halogen projector lamp.

Most users of the halogen projector lamp lack the knowledge to extend the life of a projector lamp. They become frustrated with the seemingly short life span of the lamps they buy. Some users feel they made a very bad choice when they chose a projector that uses halogen lamps because they seem to be buying the lamps too often. That gets pretty expensive and very frustrating when the owner has to take time and money to replace the lamps so often.

A projector lamp that is of the halogen variety operates at very high temperatures. This leads to a shorter lamp life than the incandescent lamp once had. The two most popular projector lamps today are the “ENX” and the “EYB”. Most projector owners do not realize that these two lamps have a life expectancy of just 72 hours which is a big difference from the more than 200-hour life expectancy of the incandescent bulb of the past. If you take into consideration that the average projector is used for an average of five hours per day, the halogen projector lamps last for approximately two weeks. This seems like a short lamp life to the user who is used to replacing incandescent bulbs much less often. The reality is the halogen projector lamp is burning the normal average length of time.

The halogen projector lamp of today is more often found in the overhead projector. Incandescent lamps have become obsolete. You may still find a few of the older model overhead projectors in the educational system who due to lack of knowledge or funds have not updated their equipment. But the new overhead projectors of today use halogen projector lamps. Even these lamps burn at very high temperatures. They only require 82 volts of power to operate. Halogen projector lamps have a much brighter light output (or lumens) and do not use special fans or reflectors to cool off.

There are actually two reasons why halogen projector lamps have a short life expectancy. Most users are not aware of these reasons, so they do not take precautions to make sure that these things do not happen. The first cause for halogen projector lamps to burn out sooner is that the lamp should never be touched by bare hands. The oils on the skin are left on to halogen projector lamps and cause burn spots that make the lamps burn unevenly. This results in damage to the lamps and shortens the life of the projector lamps.

The second reason that halogen projector lamps burn out sooner than they should is how the lamps are fed into the lamp socket. If the halogen projector lamps are not fed into the socket correctly, it will cause damage to the projector lamps as well as to the lamp's socket. When placing the projector lamps into the socket, you should feel a snap as the lamp seeks bully into the socket. This is the most common reason for halogen projector lamp failure.

How Long Should A Projector Lamp Last?

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