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Why Metal Halide?
Metal halide excels in meeting the complex demands of a worldwide
market providing the highest performance in terms of energy, efficiency, light quality, light output and lamp life.
Metal Halide Characteristics:
Long Life You would need forty-five 100 watt incandescent
light bulbs to provide the same lumen hours over the life of one MH 100 watt standard universal lamp
More Light,Better Light Metal halide lamps produce light that is the closest to natural
sunlight of all available light sources. White light is a very important attribute of this technology because it is
the light that people prefer.
Excellent Color Rendering Metal halide can be manufactured to produce almost any color of
light desired (2700K-20000K)and offers an excellent color rendering index (CRI) of 65-85. Specialty lamps of specific
colors can also be produced, including blue, green, aqua and pink.
Compact Size One 100 watt standard metal halide lamp produces the same light output as
three four-foot long high output fluorescent lamps. The smaller metal halide lamps allow for compact luminaires that deliver
high light levels with more precise optical control to provide better light where it is needed
Versatility Metal halide lamps are relatively unaffected by changes in ambient temperature and they are
available in a wide range of wattages and lumen packages for a variety of applications.
High Efficiency Metal halide is commonly used to retrofit incandescent,fluorescent and high pressure sodium
lighting systems. Without the heat associated with incandescent light, metal halide lamps produce light three to five times more efficiently than
incandescent lanps. For an equivalent amount of energy, metal halide produces five times the amount of light. They emit a natural white light, rather
than the yellow light of high pressure sodium. These attributes afford the user more options in illumination levels, lighting design and system cost.
Positive Environmental Impact Metal halide lighting systems are able to deliver a high light level in a given space for considerably
less energy than required by an incandescent system. Metal halide's high efficiency can have a tremendous impact on energy usage without sacrificing light output.
MH vs. HPS Metal halide lighting is superior to high pressure sodium (HPS) in the color
and quality of light delivered. HPS lamps yield yellow lighting (2200k) and have a very poor CRI of 22. This color
limitation occurs because the HPS lamp generates light by only exciting sodium. Metal halide, on the other hand, delivers
a crisp, white light in the range of 2700 to 5200 Kelvin with typical CRIs in the mid-60s to mid-70s. Some lamp chemistries obtain
CRIs in the 80s.
MH vs. Incandescent A 100 watt standard metal halide lamp provides five times the lumen output of a
100 watt incandescent bulb. The metal halide lamp will burn for an average of 15,000 hours or approximately 15-20 times the life
of the incandescent lamp. Although low initial cost is often cited for selecting incandescent lighting systems over metal halide, life cycling
will show that the operating costs, as well as greater adverse environmental impact.
MH vs. Mercury Vapor Mercury vapor lamps provide lower efficacy compared to metal halide. While metal halide
lamps produce a white light, mercury vapor lamps emit blue-green light with poor CRI. Like MH lamps, mercury vapor lamps have long life.
Unlike metal halide, they only produce acceptable light and color in phosphor coated (diffuse) bulbs.
MH vs. Fluorescent Metal halide lamps offer a compact, white source and a high light level using a smaller fixture. The light is
easily directed or controlled. Conversely, linear fluorescent lamps are low brightness sources with relatively large surface areas. They are good for general
diffuse lighting but are hard to direct. Metal halide lamps radiate much more light per square centimeter of surface area than fluorescents. A fluorescent lamp at
the highest output has only the total lumens output of a 175 watt standard metal halide lamp. A major drawback of fluorescent lamps for general lighting is their
temperature sensitivity. The fluorescent lamp performs optimally at around 70 degrees Farenheit and experiences measurable decline in efficacy on either side of this
optimum. Fluorescents are best for indoor lighting applications where the ambient temperature is well controlled. Metal halide lamps, on the other hand, are well
suited for both indoor and outdoor applications and are relatively unaffected by large changes in ambient temperature.
