Projector Lamps

Have you shopped for a projector lamp lately? If you have please take a moment to close your bottom jaw, blink your eyes, and wipe the druel off of your chin. You are looking at the most expensive light bulb you will ever buy! How can this light bulb be so expensive? We'll there's really not a good answer for that. I think it's kind of like when you buy a printer and the replacement cartridge is half the price of the printer. Same concept! The manufactures have a revenue driver on their hands and they aren't going to give it up so easy. So what are we consumers to do? We love our big screen image. We'll in this article I want to educate the first time projector owners that don't have all the know-how of the seasoned home theater enthusiast. I'm going to give you a few pointers on how to keep your projector lamp working for the greatest amount of runtime. Feedback is appreciated from anyone out there who may know more - this page is a discussion, not dogma.

First off, keep in mind that your projector is a very sophisticated piece of engineering and like all electronics can be sensitive to static shock, humidity, and other such environmental conditions. Electronics typically do poorly in extreme environmental conditions such as:

-Extreme (high/low) temperatures

- High Humidity

-Dusty/Sandy/Smoky locations

-Poorly ventilated areas

-Any combination of the above conditions

So under ideal conditions just how long can I expect my projector lamp to last?

Just like any light bulb, projector bulbs have an expected operating time, called lamp life. This value is expressed in hours and represents the number of hours before the lamp is at half its original brightness.

The expected life of a lamp will vary based on the lamp technology and the projector; however, most projector lamps will run for about 2000 hours. The lamp's success rate is based on a bell curve, so that a majority of (but not all) lamps will meet the lamp life hours specified. Some lamps will fail sooner and this is part of the acceptable operating range of the rating.

As for what can be done about it there's plenty and it doesn't even involve any heavy lifting!

-DON'T turn the projector on and off like it's a rear projection television. Every single time you turn the projector on, it puts a LOT of strain on the projector bulb. If you put enough stress on the lamp, it can either prematurely burn out, or in a worst case scenario even explode! Projector lamps are expensive and, for some models, hard to locate.

-Keep the air filter in your projector clean and replace it when necessary. The owner's manual will most likely have a section on how to do this, and failing that then you can call the projector manufacturer (99% of them list a 1-800 number in the manual for customer support; failing that, check out the internet) to find out what needs to be done.

- Don't run the projector for extended amounts of time. This puts strain on the projector lamp and other components.

-Don't smoke in the same room as the projector. This is a biggie - cigarette/cigar/pipe smoke can ruin the moving parts in a projector, such as the cooling fans. The same goes for dust, grit, and sand - if you know that the room you plan on projecting in is dirty, clean it a bit before you use it for a home theater.

-This may seem simple, but run your projector in economy mode. This will use less than the maximum output of the projector lamp to extend it's operating hours. You can expect about a 20% decrease in brightness. It may not be worth it all the time - there is some loss in brightness quality - but it can save you a lot of money if you are using your projector for things like watching television or business presentations.

Keep in mind that the projection lamp itself shouldn't need any maintenance. Rather, by keeping the projector in good condition and changing a few viewing habits, you can keep get the most out of your lamp.

It's also a good idea to know exactly which projection bulb your projector uses. This is a good way to make sure that when it's time to get a new one, there's as little confusion as possible. There are many different brands to choose from and some are more expensive than others.

If you feel like I've missed anything, please let me know in a response and the I'll include it in this or another article.