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GE Halogen "modified spectrum" A19s

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Lumalux:
I was at Walmart yesterday here in the Richmond, VA area and found some GE reduced wattage halogens in the 4-pack with "modified spectrum" in relatively small type on the box.  The box also describes them as being GE's best bulb.  What caught my eye was the faint pink color of the bulbs' inside coating.  All of the boxes were like that.  I bought a 4-pack of the 53 watt (75 watt replacement), good for 2,000 hours.  These bulbs are made in Mexico and appear to be well-made.  To the naked (and my own discerning) eye, the light emitted does not appear to be any different from a regular white bulb, and if the light is indeed pink it is so faint that it is undetectable.

I can't find any information about these bulbs.  What is the purpose of the pink coating?  It's much paler than the regular Soft Pink bulbs.  Is it just to make the light warmer and more pleasing?  This is the first time I've ever seen a halogen not marketed for its whiteness.

Keyless:
I would think to make the light warmer. The new energy saver halogens are over driven halogen capsules which produce a very white light that some find harsh. I will admit the bare halogen energy saver bulbs produce a lot of glare and the light is crisp white rather than the soft yellow we are used to.


My guess GE is trying to replicate a regular bulb in the color department. The label modified spectrum I think comes from the fact the coating reduces the lumens per what required by law, so the label somewhat lets the lamp slide as a specialty bulb. 

Mike:
I have sensitive eyes (i sometimes find myself squinting on cloudy days because it's too bright outside) so i don't like clear lamps too much. I love the whiter look to halogens though and use the 53W soft white A19 halogens to replace 60W incandescents. More light, energy is saved, and the light is whiter and more pleasant.

I suppose i wouldn't mind using clear lamp in fixtures where the light is behind a diffuser but i just buy coated lamps so that i can use them in any fixture.

lights*plus:
Usually "lower watt" tungsten lamps have krypton as the inert gas instead of argon. The higher molecular weight allows the filament to be operated at a higher temperature (by making the tungsten coils thinner) hence whiter. They produce about 5-15% more light than argon filled lamps. Evaporation and failure of the filament is reduced because of the heavier krypton gas.

But true halogen lamps, with iodine or other halogens as the vapor surrounding the coiled tungsten filament, have an additional 10-20% improvement over the amount of light and color. The peak of the light output is shifted towards the blue, hence more lumens in the visible part of the spectrum per watt.

If you can somehow see a quartz tube within the bulb, then it's a halogen lamp. The pink coating may be there for further color correction. If no quartz tube is seen, then it's an ordinary tungsten filament with krypton.

Medved:
The halogen lamps offer longer life, but due to positive temperature coeficient of the tungsten resistance the filament tend to heat up unevenly during the startup and some say even overheat, causing the tungsten to recrystallize, so loose the strength and for the next time make the unevenness worse, so with frequent switching the lamp life becomes very short. Mainly the lower wattage 230V (100W and below, so with a thin and long filament) are the most affected.
The cooler running "classic" argon or krypton lamps have higher temperature margin, so do not suffer from that effect.

And with halogen lamps, the halogens tend to attack the rather cold tungsten wire emerging from the quartz seal, so that part of the filament get's  eaten out by the halogen cycle - the same effect, what keep the bulb wall clean and moves the tungsten onto the filament.

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