Can I Use LED Bulb In Wax Warmers?

Candles are trendy at the minute – walk into any supermarket. There are all kinds of exotic scents, oversized candles in unusual jars… it’s becoming a bit of a craze.

But what if you don’t like the idea of an open flame at home?

Maybe you’ve got younger children or pets that are a little too curious or clumsy?

Some landlords don’t allow open flames in tenancy agreements. That’s where wax warmers come in.

Instead, they use a light bulb to melt the wax of a candle or wax cube, releasing the aroma without a flame or any smoke.

While I love LED light bulbs for how efficient and long-lasting they are, they aren’t perfect for everything.

So can you use a modern, energy-efficient LED lightbulb in a wax warmer as a safer way of enjoying relaxing scents at home?

LED bulbs aren’t suitable for wax warmers because they don’t emit anywhere near the necessary amount of heat – they won’t melt the wax. Wax warmers are usually rated for an incandescent bulb, which generates a much higher temperature.

In this article, I’m going to explain:

• Why LED bulbs aren’t the right choice for a wax warmer, in more detail
• The best bulbs for wax warmers
• The wattage you’ll need for a wax warmer bulb

Why LED Bulbs Are Not Suitable For Wax Warmers?

When you buy an incandescent light bulb, you’ll be told the Wattage of the bulb on the packaging or in the specifications if you’re buying online.

This tells you how much power it consumes, which you can use to determine how much light and heat it will give off.

But when you buy an LED bulb, you’ll get the actual Wattage and the equivalent Wattage in terms of brightness.

So your LED bulb might only use 6-8 Watts, but it’ll emit the equivalent light of a 35 Watt incandescent bulb, so it’ll advertise both values.

However, that’s where the comparison ends, because while a 6 Watt LED bulb might be as bright as a 35 Watt incandescent one, it won’t produce as much heat.

In fact, it’ll only generate around a quarter of the heat. And, obviously, for a wax warmer it’s the heat you need to be concerned with, not the brightness.

Which Bulbs Are Best For Wax Warmers?

A wax warmer needs a bulb that reaches a high enough temperature to melt the wax, but at the same time, it needs to be rated for safe installation.

In theory, an LED light bulb could exist that would generate the necessary heat to melt wax at the required distance. Still, it would require such a high amount of power that it wouldn’t be safe to use in the wax warmer.

Incandescent bulbs use 85-90% of their energy to produce heat, while LEDs only use between 20% and 50% of the energy to produce heat, if they are really cheap and inefficient.

But before you reach for the incandescent bulb, consider one more option – a halogen one.

Halogen bulbs use 80% of their consumed energy to produce heat, but they’re still more efficient than incandescent bulbs.

If you choose halogen, you’ll be saving energy but you should still be able to produce the amount of heat needed to melt the wax and release those pleasant aromas.

What Wattage Bulb Is Required For Wax Warmers?

So now you know that you’re going to need either an incandescent or a halogen bulb for your wax warmer, it’s time to determine what Wattage you should buy.

Generally, wax warmers will be advertised at the Wattage you need to buy for an incandescent bulb.

If the wax warmer is rated for 35 Watts, you would instead buy an incandescent bulb than buy a 35 Watt bulb.

Easy.

Suppose you’d prefer to save energy with a halogen bulb. In that case, the equivalent Wattage you need to generate enough heat to melt the wax is 25 Watts.

You might be tempted to buy a stronger bulb to melt the wax quicker and release more scent – don’t.

You shouldn’t exceed the recommended Wattage, as it might be unsafe.

Also read: Can LED Bulbs Be Used With Lava Lamps?

How Hot Do Light Bulbs For Wax Warmers Get?

Now that you understand which type and Wattage of lightbulb you can buy for wax warmer, there’s just one more thing to clarify – how hot they actually get and how safe they are.

Different types of wax have different melting points, which is why you should also only buy the recommended wax products for your wax warmer.

Many start melting at around 100 degrees Fahrenheit, with the famous brand Scentsy (Amazon) stating that the optimum temperature is 126 degrees Fahrenheit.

There’s no definitive answer for how hot a specific light bulb will be because the surface temperature will vary depending on the material and the quality.

Generally, bulbs rated at 25 Watts (the recommended Wattage for many of Scentsy’s warmers) will get to around 130 degrees Fahrenheit, the ideal temperature to melt the wax.

According to ASTM International, the technology standards organization, this is a safe temperature range to touch (but not hold).

Products are considered safe to touch if they produce a temperature below 140 degrees Fahrenheit.

This is because you won’t suffer any irreversible damage as long as you release the item within 5 seconds.

So don’t worry about a wax warmer bulb being an inferno. They are still much safer to use than an open flame candle.

You shouldn’t touch bulbs if you can avoid it anyway, especially incandescent and halogen bulbs.

Your skin can leave oils on the bulb, which will cause it to heat unevenly, creating weak spots that could cause the bulb to shatter.

But at least you know that if a child or pet does get close to the warmer and touches it, they’ll recoil but won’t be permanently injured.

Related: Are Smart Bulbs Compatible With Touch Lamps?

Final Words

LED bulbs are, generally, a great option when your primary requirement is light. They’re much more efficient and will last longer than incandescent or halogen bulbs.

But when you actually need heat rather than light, LEDs aren’t the right choice.

You’ll need to stick to incandescent or choose halogen for a bulb that’s a little more efficient while still heating the wax to the required level.

Do you have wax warmers at home, or have you considered giving one as a gift? Have you had any issues with bulb compatibility?