LED bulb for heat lamp

[chameleons59]

So I've had two bulbs burn out in the last month and decided to get a LED bulb that lasts really long. Should it be ok for my chameleon or will harm be done? Its a Philips Slimstyle LED Lightbulb and the brightness is 800 lumens. The ones that burnt out are Zoo Med Daylight Blue Reptile Bulb.

 

[Djturna4thakidz]

I am interested to hear about this too. The single incan. bulb hoods kill light bulbs really quick. I would like an alternative.

 

[Lathis]

Well, the first issue that pops into mind is that LEDs are far more efficient than incandescents, hence why incandescents make good great lamps --- energy inefficiency = heat production. I am not sure LEDs will produce enough heat for basking purposes. You would have to test it and measure the temperatures.

I just use a 75 watt standard bulb. I have a stock pile that I bought just for Ferdinand.

 

[RyU]

Tried it once but Lathis is right. I just couldn't get them to produce much heat. They do heat up at the base of the fixture, but it seems the light they emit just won't warm anything it shines on.

 

[Mike Fisher]

What species? Hard to give advice without knowing that. Also what wattage was the bulb that you are replacing? Without those two data points, that question cannot be answered. I use LED's for my montane basking lamps FWIW.

Size and type of enclosure makes a difference too. My baby cages just take a few watts to heat because they are small and mostly enclosed.

 

[RyU]

What species? Hard to give advice without knowing that. Also what wattage was the bulb that you are replacing? Without those two data points, that question cannot be answered. I use LED's for my montane basking lamps FWIW.

Size and type of enclosure makes a difference too. My baby cages just take a few watts to heat because they are small and mostly enclosed.

Used mine for Montiums and couldn't even get enough heat for babies. I was using some cheap fixture though, maybe that's why. What do you use?

 

[Mike Fisher]

No fixture, I just rest it on the screen. Current hatchlings are K. matschiei, K. mutuberculata, T. perreti.

 

[RyU]

No fixture, I just rest it on the screen. Current hatchlings are K. matschiei, K. mutuberculata, T. perreti.

That's probably why, I was using an actual fixture with LEDS build in. Were utter crap.

 

[Mike Fisher]

That's probably why, I was using an actual fixture with LEDS build in. Were utter crap.

Yeah, that won't work. You need a strong spotlight. The ones in my bigger cages are 1200 lumen and I use two per cage. It comes out to the same wattage as I was using before, but about four times as much light!

Basically that is the key because a watt is a watt, so if for example you were using a 60 watt bulb before, you can switch to LED's but it better be close to totaling 60 watts otherwise your cham is gonna be cold. So you don't save energy when using these things for heat, but due to efficiency of LED's you get much more light for that same wattage.

Get it?

 

[RyU]

Yeah, that won't work. You need a strong spotlight. The ones in my bigger cages are 1200 lumen and I use two per cage. It comes out to the same wattage as I was using before, but about four times as much light!

Basically that is the key because a watt is a watt, so if for example you were using a 60 watt bulb before, you can switch to LED's but it better be close to totaling 60 watts otherwise your cham is gonna be cold. So you don't save energy when using these things for heat, but due to efficiency of LED's you get much more light for that same wattage.

Get it?

Yep, got it. But would they produce the same amount of heat per watt?

 

[RyU]

So I've had two bulbs burn out in the last month and decided to get a LED bulb that lasts really long. Should it be ok for my chameleon or will harm be done? Its a Philips Slimstyle LED Lightbulb and the brightness is 800 lumens. The ones that burnt out are Zoo Med Daylight Blue Reptile Bulb.

Also forgot to add, you don't need to buy the branded bulbs for basking. You can use regular light bulbs.

 

[Mike Fisher]

Yep, got it. But would they produce the same amount of heat per watt?

Not quite, since LEDs are more efficient they convert more of the watts to light rather than waste heat. This is somewhat offset because you will probably need multiple LED spotlights to get anywhere near the same heat output as one 60W incandescent so you will have a larger coverage of the top of the enclosure will will hold more heat in. Some experimentation will be necessary.

In all, using LED's to try to save money on heating will be a wash because you'll need close to the same amount of wattage consumption (or possibly more) to create the heat you need. On the up side of it, you'll have much more light for that same money spent on your electric bill. That's why I use them. And the fact that I'm keeping montanes, which I need to keep cool in the summer, where LED's are just the ticket. I would not use them for species that need to stay warmer.

 

[RyU]

Not quite, since LEDs are more efficient they convert more of the watts to light rather than waste heat. This is somewhat offset because you will probably need multiple LED spotlights to get anywhere near the same heat output as one 60W incandescent so you will have a larger coverage of the top of the enclosure will will hold more heat in. Some experimentation will be necessary.

In all, using LED's to try to save money on heating will be a wash because you'll need close to the same amount of wattage consumption (or possibly more) to create the heat you need. On the up side of it, you'll have much more light for that same money spent on your electric bill. That's why I use them. And the fact that I'm keeping montanes, which I need to keep cool in the summer, where LED's are just the ticket. I would not use them for species that need to stay warmer.

How about the "quality" of light? Wouldn't LEDs be much better for planted setups? I only ask because I could care less for the electricity bill and it's always best to optimize setup. Also, most of my chams are now montane species as well, so it might actually be better than using huge enclosures so they don't get too hot.

I've also just totally hijacked this thread. Sorry to the OP and hopefully this is good learning for you too -=)

 

[Mike Fisher]

How about the "quality" of light? Wouldn't LEDs be much better for planted setups?

Yes, especially if you can get them somewhere around 5000K to 6500K, for plants the closer to 6500K the better. They provide a very bright clean light that really makes your setup pop. Even if you wanted to use a incandescent for heat, and add an LED spotlight as well, you will see a huge difference in the amount of light in the enclosure, especially if you can use one that puts out 1000 lumens or more. I use T5 HO, plus two 1200 lumen LED spots per enclosure. Amazingly bright and the colors of plants and chams are stunning.

Previous to LED's if you had tried to pump that many lumens into a small enclosure, it would have cooked everything.

 

[alvaro448]

So what do you guys use for uv

 

[RyU]

Yes, especially if you can get them somewhere around 5000K to 6500K, for plants the closer to 6500K the better. They provide a very bright clean light that really makes your setup pop. Even if you wanted to use a incandescent for heat, and add an LED spotlight as well, you will see a huge difference in the amount of light in the enclosure, especially if you can use one that puts out 1000 lumens or more. I use T5 HO, plus two 1200 lumen LED spots per enclosure. Amazingly bright and the colors of plants and chams are stunning.

Previous to LED's if you had tried to pump that many lumens into a small enclosure, it would have cooked everything.

Probably the only option was to go metal halide prior to LED, or lots of T5 bulbs. I should've kept all my reef lighting when I quit but the bulbs would've been no good anyway. Probably too big too....MH bulbs for chams....that's a funny one.

 

[alvaro448]

I have a few salt water led lights that I do not used. But I know they are great for growing plant's.

 

[RyU]

So what do you guys use for uv

It really depends on your setup. I use mostly 18" reptiglo 5.0-10.0, some 5.0 coil type exo terra. And a MV bulb for two of my large enclosures.

 

[Mike Fisher]

Probably too big too....MH bulbs for chams....that's a funny one.

I used those in the 90's to light up the whole operation of 100+ enclosures.

 

[Mike Fisher]

So what do you guys use for uv

You can buy T5 HO Arcadias from www.lightyourreptiles.com