Anyone know in degrees how hot a 60 watt light bulb gets?

I have no idea and doubt anyone else will either.

Light bulbs are not commonly measured by the heat in degrees they dissipate. They are measured by wattage, lumens (light output) and longevity (hours they last)

If I were you and curious about it, I'd put a thermometer next to one and see for yourself. Good luck with your experiment.

Re: Anyone know in degrees how hot a 60 watt light bulb gets


I found this information which may be helpful to you.

http://rabi.phys.virginia.edu/HTW/incandescent_light_bulbs.html

surface temperature of bulbs in ambient temperature of 77F:

25W - 110F
40W - 252F
60W - 260F

found the info HERE

The filament INSIDE the bulb get MUCH hotter....like 2500C, (over 4500F)

it does not combust since it is in a vacuum.

an incandescent lightbulb put out 2% light 98% heat.

Thanks everyone!!

Didn't the easy bake oven only need a light bulb to bake cookies?

Most incandescent bulbs don't have a vacuum inside. The first ones were, but after a while it was realised that the filament would evaporate too quickly, so manufacturers started filling bulbs with low pressure inert gas, usually argon, or an argon-nitrogen mixture. This discovery was made by the American Irving Langmuir in 1916, and taken up by bulb makers soon after.

developer of the very famous Langmuir equation. He was quite a guy.

Interesting. Our electrician once told me to be sure to only use 60 watt bulbs in the new fixtures he was installing since they had covers that would trap the heat.

But, the difference between the 40 and 60 watt is only 8 degrees according to what Chai posted. So a 75 watt would be less than 8 degrees hotter than a 60 since it is only 15 watts higher, right?

That's if the heat is dissipated.

Insulated bulbs could get much hotter.

As an electrician i have to say just go with what the manufacturer says. Its not (always) as much about the heat the bulb puts out, but wether or not the wiring can handle the wattage. Although you may have 14 or 12 awg going to the fixture, the fixture itself is usually equipped wuth a much smaller wire. But with that said, the more heat you apply to a fixture, the shorter its life will be

I hadn't considered the wiring within the fixture. If it becomes an issue, I surely will.

I have a little digital temperature sensor, let me settle this with the bulbs I have around the apartment.

13W CFL: 65C
26W CFL: 85C
40W Incandescent: 95C
It's a coincidence these numbers are coming out so round.
I tried a 60W Incandescent as well but my sensor only says HOT above 100C, however judging by the rate of change as it approached that limit I'd estimate it would settle around 120C.

It's also worth noting that the bulbs reach their maximum temperature in only a matter of seconds.

Actually I am trying to figure out how many degrees a 75 watt bulb will raise the temp of a cooler, I need to keep some canned goods and cleaning products from freezing at my cabin that we don't heat when not there. I am up too 125 degrees. Now that's starting from 65 and not what i can expect later when mot here, where -30 is possible. Any fire hazards I am not considering. Also is there a type of theromastat I could place inside to shut bulb on and off. I am considering building an insulated plywood box also.

yeh, Ill teplace my cabinet bulb maybe 3 times in a winter(But I keep it on 24/7)

I used a ceramic socket and have it screwed to the cabinet bse nd I hd the glass shelves notched so there isnt much heat lost between levels

OOPS, I fucked up. Apparently I wrote a post nd then accidently sent it to "Rport this thread" Im sorry I screwed up and hould be whipped.

Ok I ran my own experiment. Ambient temp. 35 degrees. 64 quart plastic cooler. 75 watt bulb 142 degrees inside cooler, 4o watt, 109 degrees inside cooler and 25 watt showed 83 degrees. Now if I could just figure out a thermostat that would allow me to use the 75 watt bulb and control the temp between 45 degrees and 60 degrees. That would be great. Cause I would think the ratios will change when ambient temp drops to minus 20 and want to keep canned goods from freezing. But I don't know of a thermostat that could be wired in to turn bulb on and off. Anyone know of anything? Might even need to use 100 watt bulb. I have used a 100 watt bulb in a crawl space to keep pipes fr freezing too.

To help out with your insulated box (would use spray foam stuff) get a can of adhesive spray and aluminum foil and line the inside (shiny side out).

For thermostat, home depot/lowes has a Line Voltage Thermostat. These are designed for baseboard heaters, but with some intuitive wiring can be used to control things like lightbulbs and space heaters. The single pole (1 switch) version is about $17 and is rated for 22 amps, range is like hmm 40-75 degrees. One thing to note on these thermostats (of which by the reviews of some people don't know), they are mercury switches, its paramount you mount it as level as possible for the temperature to be accurate.

If you don't feel like wiring, they do make a plug-in line voltage thermostats. The ones I have seen go for about $40

Thanks I will try one of those.

Watt can not be completely expressed in terms of degree. But 60 watt usage for one hour is equal to 60 watt hour energy and the surface temperature is near about 200 degree Fahrenheit . It is just like comparison of a 500 watt best coffee maker consumes same energy as the light bulb.