What are they?
Heat lamps are incandescent lamps used for the primary application of generating heat. They come in a variety of wattages, voltages, and sizes.
How do they work?
Heat lamps operate on the same principles as regular incandescent lamps, but produce much more infrared radiation. This creates more radiant heat, and allows the heat lamp to be much more useful as a source of warmth than a regular lamp. There are two primary kinds of heat lamps, red lamps and frosted/clear lamps. They function identically in terms of heat production, but the red lamp is designed to produce less visible light and is more suitable for situations where both heat and darkness are important.
Where are they used?
Heat lamps are used in applications where the generation of heat is of primary importance, such as in animal enclosures, food service, chemical and paint drying, and bathrooms. Heat lamps operate at much higher temperatures than regular incandescent lamps and should only be used in fixtures designed to prevent the risk of malfunction or fire.
Some heat lamps are also safety coated. Many safety coated lamps produce a trace amount of gas from the coating when burned, and this gas can be fatal to birds. Please heed all product warnings make sure your lamp is safe for usage around live birds and animals before using it in such applications.