Folks who are buying LED light bulbs for the first time often ask us, “How much heat LED light bulbs generate? Do they generate as much heat as halogen or incandescent bulbs?”
Many manufacturers claim LED lights don’t generate heat. But that is not so. LED lights do generate some heat. As a matter of fact, anything that consumes electricity generates heat—and LED lights are no different in this regard.
All the same, what you do need to remember is that LEDs use way less energy than halogen or incandescent bulbs. Also, they are significantly more efficient than traditional bulbs.
So, while LED light bulbs generate heat, it’s not more than a fraction of what halogen or incandescent bulbs generate.
As you may know, LED chips require lower voltage to run. LED light bulbs have built-in components that change high-voltage electricity into lower voltage. For this reason, they are far more sensitive to heat compared to halogen or incandescent bulbs. It is not uncommon to find low-cost LED light bulbs carrying a warning that they shouldn’t be placed in fixtures that are fully enclosed. That’s because the heat builds up fast in an enclosed fixture and in turn can shorten the lifespan of components inside LEDs. You should use only fully-enclosed rated LED light bulbs in such fixtures.
All in all, because LED bulbs generate low amounts of heat, they are an excellent choice for applications like task lighting as well as for illumination of heat sensitive objects like food or artwork which can get damaged by too much heat.