Among the major types of lighting, high pressure sodium light bulbs are the
one most people know the least about. It is, however, one of the best options
for energy saving and long life. The technology involved in HID lighting is
similar to fluorescent lighting. An arc is established between two electrodes in
a gas-filled tube which causes a special vapor to produce the light you see.
Unlike fluorescent bulbs, this light does not need a coating of phosphors in
order to produce the light, the light comes from the arc itself and creates a
tremendous amount of light. In the broader category of HID lighting, these are the ones you see with the slightly yellow color
in a parking lot or on the freeway.
One of the chief benefits of sodium lighting is energy
efficiency. The lumen or light output from one of these bulbs is equivalent to
the output from a normal incandescent bulb many times the wattage. Another key
feature is that these bulbs will last a very long time. The average life of a
standard model is typically about 20,000 hours. Compare this to a classic style
bulb, which has an average life of about 1,000 hours. It is easy to see the
energy savings (thus cost savings) that metal halide bulbs provide. This is why
you see them used in parking lots, roadways or warehouse facilities that run for
long periods of time. They save energy while reducing maintenance costs because
of their extra long life.
All the major manufacturers like Sylvania produce high sodium light
bulbs in all kinds of wattages. Be aware that like fluorescent light
bulbs, these also have a specific ballast that is used for each
wattage. You can't change from one wattage to another even if the bulb
might fit in the socket. Most of the time the ballast is a core and coil
type which is very heavy. The ballast will be clearly labeled as to which type
of lamp it operates. It's very important that you have the
correct lamp and ballast combination. If you don't you can reduce both
lamp and ballast life and cost yourself more money in maintenance. It's true
with all HID bulbs. They are designed to be matched with the appropriate
ballast. This means that the bulbs are not interchangeable with one another. A
metal halide cannot be swapped with a mercury vapor, a 175 watt metal halide
cannot be swapped with a 400 watt metal halide and so on.
Some people wonder about the color of these lamps.
Will they be able to distinguish color readily by using this type of lamp?
The answer is yes that they will be able to distinguish color as the white
portion of its spectrum gives the human eye enough variation to see the various
colors. But if color is a very important thing to your operation, then you
may want to consider using metal halide lamps instead. They have a
completely white light in which you can differentiate all types of color and
still get good energy efficiency. In most architectural specifications,
metal halide is becoming the HID lamp of choice for almost all applications.
With the advent of more efficient metal halide lamps, high pressure sodium light
bulbs are being specified less often.
Some of the most common varieties of high pressure sodium light bulbs are as
follows: LU70, LU100, LU150, LU250, LU400 and LU1000. The number in these codes
pertains to the wattage of each lamp. Of course, there are other far less common
wattages, shapes, and sizes available. The various manufacturers have different
names for their product, Sylvania Lumalux, GE Lucalox and Philips Ceramalux. We
have a large inventory of high pressure sodium bulbs for nearly every type of
light fixture in the field. If you need help identifying the bulb you
have, our customer service representatives can help you determine what you have.
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