Are halogen bulbs for AC or DC or both ? (1 Viewer)

[dealgan]

I've been searching for online suppliers of 12V 10W MR11 (35mm) halogen bulbs.
There are loads of them, but I'm a bit stuck.

Are there different types of halogen bulbs for 12V AC and 12V DC, or are they the same physical bulb which works on either AC or DC ?

I know the bulbs I need are MR11, 12V 10W, and are run off the 12V DC supply, but in my head is that there are also household Low Voltage Lighting (LVL) bulbs, which are 12V AC, run simply with a step-down transformer, so they are AC.

I'm thinking they are the same thing, as they have the same physical connections.

Am I right ?
Any recommended online suppliers of these bulbs ?

 

[dave newell]

An incandescent bulb is just about the simplest (useful) electrical item possible, it operates by means of the current passing through it heating a thin element usually a tungsten wire. If this were done in normal air the wire would oxidise and burn out very quickly. To prevent this the wire is encased in a glass bulb filled with a gas to exclude oxygen. Different gases allow the wire to run hotter without burning out, Halogen is a good one but Xenon is even better. To answer your question though, it really doesn't matter whether it is for AC or DC an incandescent bulb will work just the same on both.

D.

 

[dealgan]

OK Great.

Makes perfect sense. Thank you.

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[pappajohn]

I've been searching for online suppliers of 12V 10W MR11 (35mm) halogen bulbs.
There are loads of them, but I'm a bit stuck.

Are there different types of halogen bulbs for 12V AC and 12V DC, or are they the same physical bulb which works on either AC or DC ?

I know the bulbs I need are MR11, 12V 10W, and are run off the 12V DC supply, but in my head is that there are also household Low Voltage Lighting (LVL) bulbs, which are 12V AC, run simply with a step-down transformer, so they are AC.

I'm thinking they are the same thing, as they have the same physical connections.

Am I right ?
Any recommended online suppliers of these bulbs ?

the 12v output from the transformer will be DC volts (230vAC in/12vDC out)so yes, the bulbs are the same.

 

[olley]

Hi papa a tranny is AC, AC in AC out, unless there's a rectifier in the output, as there's no advantage to have a DC output to power bulbs, its unlikely in my opinion that there would be.

Olley