Metal Halide Lamp Information

Applications

Consumers use metal halide lamps for a number of applications. Metal halide lamps are most widely used in outdoor applications. This type of lamp is ideal as a light source for parking lots, streets and highways. Metal halide lights are often used as a light source for indoor gardens and greenhouses. Some consumers also utilize metal halide lamps for warehouse lighting.

Metal halide lamps require the use of several components to properly function. All metal halide lamps must be equipped with ballasts. According to Venture Lighting, ballasts produce a starting voltage for the lamp to provide a constant stream of visible light. Ballasts regulate the amount of power that goes to the lamp while it is running. Only proper ballasts meeting the specifications outlined by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) should be used in HID lighting systems.

The whitish light produced by metal halide lamps is in a 3,200 to 5,200 Kelvin-correlated color temperature range, according to the Lighting Research Center. Metal halide lamps of 250 watts can last for anywhere between 10,000 and 15,000 hours, according to Dark Sky Society.

Metal halide lamps are traditionally less efficient than other types of HID lamps. Lumens are a measurement used to determine the light output of a light source. A 250-watt, high-pressure sodium lamp is capable of producing up to 87 lumens per watt of power versus 58 from a metal halide lamp. Metal halide lamps are also only rated to last for up to 15,000 hours versus high-pressure sodium lamps that are rated to last for upwards of 24,000 hours.

One of the only downfalls with HID technology is that they include elemental mercury in their construction. According to Dark Sky Society, metal halide lamps can contain between 38 and 81 mg of elemental mercury. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reports that overexposure to the type of mercury in metal halide lamps can result in respiratory failure, kidney failure and even death. Care should be taken, when disposing of broken metal halide lamps, to reduce the risk of mercury exposure.