DIY & Home Improvement

Halogen bulbs can be run at a higher temperature, but they don't have to be - halogen just refers to the gas surrounding the filament.

The bulbs you are replacing used 40 watts of electricity to mostly produce heat. The new bulbs use 28 watts of electricity to mostly produce heat. Since they're using less power, it's going to be difficult to get them to produce more heat.

If the globes feel like glass, they will be fine. If the globes feel like plastic, they will probably be fine - the manufacturer would have to have made an odd choice of plastic to melt at the temperature the bulb will produce.

If you want to minimize the danger/cost, just put one bulb back and see what happens. Run the light for a while, then poke it with something to see if the globe is soft. Make sure you do not touch the globe with part of your body until you know the globe has not softened.