Projector bulbs are an essential part of any projector that provides sufficient light for projecting images and videos on the projector screen. One of the primary concerns regarding projector bulbs is the life of the projector bulb and how its life can be increased.
If you own a projector, it is compulsory for you to gain knowledge regarding the lifespan of projector bulbs and the maintenance and replacement guide for projector bulbs.
Below in this article, we will discuss the lifespan of projector bulbs and how we can optimize them for increasing the lifespan of projector bulbs. Also, we will explain a few things to keep in mind while replacing a projector bulb.
By the end of this article, you will be equipped with the knowledge to maximize the life of a projector lamp. After that, you will be able to make the decision easily whether it’s regarding replacement or choosing the correct projector bulb for your projector. So let’s get started.
Factors Affecting Your Projector Bulb/Lamp Life
Before knowing the strategies to improve projector bulb life, it is important to know what are the factors which are affecting projector bulb life. By knowing these factors, we will make it easy to understand how can we increase the lifespan of projector bulbs for our projector. There are a few important factors which impact the projector lamp lifespan are described below,
1. Type of Bulb
one of the major concerns to keep in mind before trying to figure out the lifespan of a projector bulb is the type of bulb or technology of lamp or bulb in which it is glowing. The lifespan of the projector bulb strictly depends on the lamp type which is the very first thing to figure out because different types of projector bulbs have different types of lamp life due to their technology.
These projector lamps come with different technologies such as UHP(Ultra High Pressure) and metal halide lamps which are old-generation projector bulb technologies and have a short lifespan of 1000-4000 hours. If we talk about the latest generation technologies, there are laser technologies and LED technologies available in the market which have longer lifespans of 20000 hours to 30000 hours and still it can be increased more if you use them carefully.
So before buying any projector, you must have to know which projector lamp technology that particular projector is working with so that you can make up your mind accordingly.
2. Inappropriate Use and No Maintenance
If a projector owner is not aware of the usage of the projector, he or she can decrease the projector’s life or can make sudden lamp failure easily. Unfair use of a projector like turning the projector on and off frequently or rapidly can decrease the lifespan of the projector lamp.
Similarly, if a projector owner isn’t cleaning the projector air filters or not doing maintenance then he or she is also decreasing the lifespan of the projector bulb. The reason behind this effect is the projector lamp increases the temperature inside the projector and it is important to provide proper air circulation inside the projector. If the air filter of the projector is not cleaned and chocking the air circulation, then it will decrease the life of the projector bulb.
3. Atmospheric Conditions
Sometimes, atmospheric conditions also decrease the lifespan of the projector. If a projector is being operated at high-temperature, heavy humidity environments with lots of dust outside in the air, it will impact directly the lifespan of the projector lamp. So it is recommended to make sure the usage of the projector is in an ideal environment with good ventilation for the longevity of the projector bulb lifespan.
Few Tips to Increase the Life of Projector Bulb
While using a projector, we always look for some economical ways and safe operations for the long life of that particular device as well as its internal components. So it is important to follow some standards using guides and tips for better performance and longevity of that device.
below, we are providing a few tips for you to make it easy for you to increase the lifespan of the projector as well as its components.
1. Use Eco Mode
Mostly, Projectors come with eco mode inbuilt into their features. In some cases, this feature comes with power-saver mode names too. The quality of this feature is low brightness and less power consumption while using a projector in this mode. By using this feature, you can decrease the temperature and heat produced while projecting the screen through the projector.
That effect results in efficient performance of the projector and longer life of the projector bulb due to less heat generation while using the projector. So significantly, by using eco mode in projectors, you can increase projector bulb lifespan and reduce power consumption as well.
2. Give Proper Cool Down Time
One of the golden rules for longer projector bulb life is to cool down the projector before turning it off and moving it anywhere. As we all know that projector performs at high temperatures due to heat produced inside the projector while projecting the screen through it.
So it is important to cool it down before turning it off or moving it anywhere else because if we cut out the power of the projector, it can cause thermal shock in the projector bulb and damage it. Also moving it somewhere else can also cause damage to the projector bulb. So that’s why we need to cool it down before turning it off or moving it to somewhere else.
3. Maintain Proper Air Ventilation
For a long life of a projector lamp, it is important to maintain proper air ventilation and a clean environment near the projector. By doing this, we can ensure the long life of the projector bulb. To maintain air ventilation, we must have to check air filters regularly and clean them if required.
Also, we must have to ensure that the projector is being used in a clean environment with no dust and other particles in air because these dust and other small particles may damage or choke the air filter and block the airflow inside the projector and disturb the heat management system inside the projector.
We should always check the projector placement before using it that if it’s in a good place with proper air ventilation and not in any enclosed or cabinet type any closed box so that the exhaust fans of the projector work properly without being choked.
4. Do Follow the Manufacturer’s Guide
It is always recommended to read the manufacturer’s guide of a specific projector model before using it to make sure that we won’t do any mistakes that can cause a breakdown in the projector and projector bulb as well. The most important things described in the manufacturer guide such as instructions of use, maintenance guide, and safe handling guide for the long lifespan of that device and their internal parts need to be known by users before using it.
Step by Step Guide for Choosing the Right Projector Bulb (With Installing Guide)
By using the above techniques you can defiantly increase the lifespan of the projector bulb, but after an ideal time, every projector bulb needs to be replaced. Even if it’s working, we can identify the projector bulb is about to die by checking a few things while projecting the screen through it. These things can be flickering and inconsistent screens, color distortion, a few dark spots on the screen, decreased brightness of the projected image, etc. So always monitor these basic things which are noticeable to anyone who is using the projector.
Now, the question is how to choose the right projector bulb for your projector. Everyone knows that projector bulbs come with projector model compatibility quality. So we always have to choose a projector bulb that is compatible with our projector. Except for this, there are also a few other things to keep in mind while purchasing a projector bulb. We will discuss these things and help you out making a better decision when choosing a projector lamp for your personal projector.
Below, we are providing you a few points or things to keep in mind while choosing a projector bulb for long life and better performance.
1. Choosing Right Lumens & Brightness
While choosing a projector bulb, you should always check the lumens value of that particular bulb for the brightness level of that bulb. In the market, there are various projector bulbs available according to different lumen values and brightness. So before making any purchase, evaluate your usage of the projector if you required more brightness than last time or less brightness from a recently used projector lamp.
After evaluating this factor, you are ready to purchase your next projector bulb with the required lumens and brightness accordingly.
2. Original Manufactured Bulbs or Compatible Bulbs
While buying a projector bulb, when you go to the market or search online for projector bulbs, you will get two types of projector bulbs which are original equipment manufactured bulbs and compatible bulbs which are not originally from the projector manufactured company itself but can be used with this projector due to compatibility with that projector.
The difference between these projector bulbs is the quality and performance of the originally manufactured bulbs can be higher than compatible projector bulbs because the original projector bulb is manufactured by the company itself and tested by an expert team to provide better quality and performance as well as longer lamp life.
In terms of price, we can say that compatible bulbs can be cheaper than the original equipment-manufactured Bulbs because these are made by some third-party manufacturers, and they make these projector bulbs with multiple device compatibilities.
So before buying any projector lamp, always check the manufacturer details of that projector lamp and then make any decision accordingly to the budget and quality.
3. Considering Value for Money Product With Longer Lamp Life
Before buying any projector bulb, you should check if the projector bulb is cost-effective and a value-for-money product or not. To determine this, you can simply check the projector lamp’s life and the costs available in the market that vary according to the product manufacturers.
So you should choose the right projector bulb with better performance and long lamp life rather than choosing a cheap projector lamp with very less lamp life to reduce frequent replacement of projector lamps due to cheap quality projector lamps and their low lamp life.
Steps-by-Step Guide for Quick Replacement of Projector Bulb
After Choosing a compatible and ideal projector bulb for your projector according to your needs, we have to replace the dead projector lamp with a new one. For this, we need to follow some basic instructions for a safe replacement activity of the projector lamp as well as the projector itself. Because without having proper knowledge, you may harm yourself or damage the projector too.
In this section, we will provide you a few basic things and steps to keep in mind while replacing a projector bulb of the projector.
- In the first step, you must have to turn the projector off by cutting out the supply of that projector and leaving it to cool down completely before doing any operation.
- After being cool down, we have to remove the lamp cover which is usually located on the bottom side or on the right or left side of the projector.
- After removing the lamp cover, you will be able to see the lamp clearly, and now it’s time to unscrew or unlatch the projector bulb to remove it from the projector.
- After removing the old projector lamp, similarly, install the new projector lamp inside the projector safely.
- Now again place the lamp cover in its place and pack it again as it was before opening it.
- After completing the replacement of the projector bulb, turn on the projector by connecting it to the supply and reset the lamp life hour counter to track the newest lamp’s life.
By using these steps, you can easily replace the projector lamp of any projector. Also, it is recommended that you should check the manufacturer’s guide as well to obtain additional knowledge and extra safety precautions while replacing the projector lamp.
Conclusion
Projector bulbs are an important part of any projector and it is essential for projector users to know about the lamp life of a projector lamp and factors which affects the longevity of a projector lamp. The replacement of projector lamps is a most common activity for projector owners and everyone who is going to buy a projector or has bought a projector recently may have to know these common things.
Also, it is important for everyone to keep in mind these common things while using a projector such as how to use it gently for the long life of that projector as well as its internal parts life, and once after ended life of the projector bulb how to choose a better projector lamp for the projector.
One more thing which is most important for the longer lifespan of a projector lamp is the scheduled maintenance of the projector and proper cleaning of air filters. These common practices can increase the lifespan of a projector bulb and reduce the frequency of replacement of the projector lamp of your projector if you are tired of replacing it in a short period.
Expect this, if you have any other queries regarding projector lamps and their lamp life, you may comment here and we will be happy to answer you.
Happy Projecting 😉 !!
