IRC MR16 Lamps - Alternatives to 50W MR16 Light Bulbs

Alternatives to 50W MR16 Light Bulbs

There are several more energy efficient alternatives to your current 50W MR16 light bulbs. A 50W MR16 is equivalent to a 75W incandescent bulb, so if you have a track fixture with several lamps on it you may simply want to replace your current bulbs with 35W MR16 bulbs. Most people find that these are adequate, especially in a living room.

If you want to go a step further you could consider IRC MR16 bulbs. IRC refers to an infrared coating which is applied to the bulb, and reflects the infra red light back towards the filiment, making it hotter, while still using less energy. For this reason a 20w IRC has the same output as a 35w non-IRC, a 35w IRC has the same output as a 50w non-IRC, and a 50w IRC has the same output as a 75w non-IRC.

IRC energy saving light bulbs give an energy saving of up to 40% and last 5 times longer than standard MR16 bulb. There will be no back light from the bulb (the star type sparkle that you sometimes see from the back of these bulbs) which you may notice if you have open back fixtures. In closed type fixtures the fixture life will be extended as more heat is directed out the front, rather than back into the fixture. Two examples of these types of bulbs are:

Osram IRC MR16
Philips Energy Advantage IRC MR16 lamps

They are generally only currently available in specialty lighting stores and you may need to order them. They cost approx. $15 each, but there are discounts for multi-packs.

There are also LED (light emitting diode) equivalents for your MR16 lamps being developed but they tend to have a colder light and are dimmer. They also currently cost approx. $40 each which makes them prohibitively expensive, but you will notice this will drop rapidly as the technology develops so they something you might like to look out for in the future.