To use LED’s or not to use them, that is the question....

[Kronos]

So, we have been using a led 60 watt bulb for heat, it reaches the temp we need for our baby but I heard we should be using an incandescent instead. Which is best?

 

[Kaizen]

So, we have been using a led 60 watt bulb for heat, it reaches the temp we need for our baby but I heard we should be using an incandescent instead. Which is best?

If you get the right temps at basking, then it doesn’t matter what bulb you use. (Unless it’s one of those LEDs that have blue and red chips that cast really ugly light. )

 

[Klyde O'Scope]

If you get the right temps at basking, then it doesn’t matter what bulb you use.

+1. Incandescents are usually recommended because they put out more heat per watt over a distance than LEDs, and for basking, it's the heat you're going for.

 

[Kronos]

So, if its a white led light and gives the right temp/heat, then it’s all good?

 

[nightanole]

So, if its a white led light and gives the right temp/heat, then it’s all good?

Yup. If you had an electric motor that just spun and warmed the tank to the correct temp that would work too

But as far as the perfect efficient chameleon heater, that would be an IR projector bulb. If you think about it, all the light that is bouncing off your chameleon and into your eyeballs, is not heating the chameleon. Only the light that is absorbed is heating the cham. And most living things do not reflect IR light, so instead it get absorbed and heats up the body.