If you've been exhibiting for more than a few years, you probably remember halogen booth lights. Heavy, hot, and they burned out at inconvenient moments. LED has largely replaced them in modern exhibition environments — but understanding both technologies helps you make better buying decisions.
The Short Answer
For most modern trade show booths, LED is the practical choice. Lower heat output, lower energy consumption, longer lifespan, and no lamp replacements. Halogen still has a place in specific applications — particularly for exhibitors with existing halogen systems or those who prefer a user-replaceable lamp design. Let's go through why.
Heat
Halogen lamps produce significantly more heat than LED fixtures. In a trade show environment, this has practical implications: adequate clearance from fabric graphics and display materials is important, and some venues restrict or require pre-approval for halogen lighting. Always check the exhibitor manual for your specific show before using halogen fixtures.
LED lights produce a fraction of the heat. For a booth where staff are working all day and products are on display, this is a meaningful advantage in most exhibition environments.
Energy Consumption
A 25W LED produces roughly the same light output as a 75–100W halogen. That's a significant reduction in power consumption for equivalent brightness.
Most venues charge for power or have limits on how much you can draw from allocated outlets. A booth running LED arm lights typically has more headroom in its power allocation for monitors, demo equipment, and other electronics.
Color Quality
Halogen has excellent color rendering — CRI close to 100 — which is why it was the preferred choice for retail and exhibition lighting for decades. The warm 2700K–3000K character also suits certain graphics and fabric backdrops well.
Modern LED lights with CRI 90+ match halogen for color accuracy in the vast majority of trade show applications. The key word is modern. Cheap LED lights with CRI 70–80 are noticeably worse than halogen. CRI matters when buying LED exhibition lighting.
Lifespan and Lamp Replacement
Halogen lamps typically last 2,000–3,000 hours. Quality LED lights are rated for 30,000–50,000 hours. In practice, LED fixtures require no lamp replacements under normal use.
One practical advantage of halogen: the lamp is user-replaceable. For display contractors maintaining existing halogen systems, this can be convenient when a compatible replacement lamp is readily available.
Portability
LED lights are generally lighter than equivalent halogen fixtures. Over the course of a year of trade shows, that adds up — especially if you're shipping your booth or checking it as luggage.
Cost
LED lights cost more upfront. A quality LED arm light costs more than a comparable halogen fixture. But lower energy costs, no replacement lamps, and longer lifespan mean the total cost of ownership typically favors LED for exhibitors who show regularly.
When Halogen May Still Be Relevant
- Existing display systems built around halogen fixtures where full replacement isn't necessary
- Applications where a user-replaceable R7s lamp is specifically preferred
- Exhibitors who want the traditional warm light character of halogen for specific display applications
- Venues where halogen is permitted and the application is compatible
For a detailed discussion, see: Halogen vs LED Trade Show Lighting: When Does Halogen Still Make Sense?
The Verdict
For most exhibitors building or upgrading a booth, LED is the practical choice. The heat reduction alone simplifies venue compliance and display material placement. Lower energy consumption and longer lifespan make the economics work over multiple shows.
Just make sure you buy LED lights with CRI 90+ — that's the specification that determines whether your LED lights match halogen for color quality.
Our LED booth arm lights are all CRI 90+ and ETL/UL listed. For traditional halogen display applications, see our 150W R7s Halogen Exhibition Spotlight.