What is the difference between Dichroic and reflector lamps?
All tungsten and tungsten halogen lamps used in downlights, spotlights or similar luminaires incorporate a reflector at the back of the light source that allows concentrating the light on a beam as opposed to diffuse it in all directions. Originally this reflector was created by coating the back of the lamp with an aluminium layer. However, because the tungsten and halogen lamps generate a lot of heat, aluminium reflectors concentrate and project this heat in the light beam. This in most cases is a disadvantage as the heat could damage the illuminated surfaces in the long term (e.g. an artwork, a curtain, etc.), if the lamp is not sufficiently far from the objects themselves. To overcome this problem, dichroic reflectors were developed: these are designed with special materials/filters that reflect light but only a small percentage of the heat generated, while most of this is transmitted through the reflectorto the back of the lamp. As a consequence, the heat in the beam of light is mu
