# Halogen Bulbs **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [July 19, 2003, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/halogen-bulbs/189615 "2003-07-19T18:54:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![barbitu8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/839c29/32.png) [@barbitu8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/barbitu8)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2003, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/halogen-bulbs/189615/1 "2003-07-19T18:54:38Z")
OK, the ballast is responsible for the hum in fluorescent lights (which, BTW, I happened to have known), but what I don’t know is what caues the hum in halogen bulbs. There is no ballast, that I know of. Or is there? ---
**Author:** ![barbitu8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/839c29/32.png) [@barbitu8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/barbitu8)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2003, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/halogen-bulbs/189615/2 "2003-07-19T18:55:42Z")
Oops. Forgot the link. [http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mbuzzingbulb.html](http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mbuzzingbulb.html) ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2003, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/halogen-bulbs/189615/3 "2003-07-19T19:23:44Z")
Are you referring to the mercury or sodium vapor lamps used in streetlights? These aren’t halogen bulbs. They are gas-discharge bulbs similar to fluorescents, in that they operate by passing an electric current through an ionized gas, producing light. As with fluorescent bulbs, these lamps also need a ballast, for the same reason. I’ve had halogen desk lamps–they are incandescent lamps, just like a standard lightbulb, and there is no ballast in them. If you are referring to low-voltage halogen lighting systems, then there _is_ a transformer in them that lowers the 120 V mains to typically 12 V, and these can buzz the same way (and for the same reason) as fluorescent ballasts. ---
**Author:** ![barbitu8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/839c29/32.png) [@barbitu8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/barbitu8)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2003, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/halogen-bulbs/189615/4 "2003-07-19T19:55:28Z")
I was referring to halogen lamps for the household. I have two of them. Is this the same as the halogen lighting systems you refer to? I have 150 watt halogen bulbs in each, but they come in different wattage. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2003, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/halogen-bulbs/189615/5 "2003-07-19T20:02:22Z")
I’m not sure. Have you got a brand name and maybe a model number for the lamps? There’s so many variations of high-voltage/low-voltage/halogen/incandescent/fluorescent/whatever lighting solutions available, it’s difficult to say what might be causing the buzz in yours. Chances are it’s a transformer of some sort. ---
**Author:** ![barbitu8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/839c29/32.png) [@barbitu8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/barbitu8)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2003, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/halogen-bulbs/189615/6 "2003-07-19T20:58:39Z")
Regent 150 watt quartz halogen replacement bulb. Model HSL150BP. It’s 120 volt 150 watt. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2003, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/halogen-bulbs/189615/7 "2003-07-19T21:29:23Z")
I can’t find any specific information on their website ([http://www.regentlighting.com/](http://www.regentlighting.com/)), but I suspect it’s some sort of transformer, especially if it’s the type of lamp with a switchable dimmer. ---
**Author:** ![barbitu8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/839c29/32.png) [@barbitu8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/barbitu8)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2003, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/halogen-bulbs/189615/8 "2003-07-19T23:57:19Z")
You can control the brightness by turning the knob, and the noise is most obvious when the bulb is brightest. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2003, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/halogen-bulbs/189615/9 "2003-07-20T00:25:05Z")
Yep, that would be why. I found a nice How Stuff Works article on this [here.](http://home.howstuffworks.com/dimmer-switch5.htm) ---
**Author:** ![dkimchi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ec9cab/32.png) [@dkimchi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dkimchi)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2003, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/halogen-bulbs/189615/10 "2003-07-22T14:01:00Z")
Thanks for the updates. My questions are: (1) Is there a way to test for a “good” strip light using a multi-meter? (2) what is the correct disposal technique for used strip lights considering the mercury content? (3) Are the phosphors used posionous - what would happen if you were to break a tube and ingest some of the glass?