Look around, and you will see HID Lamps in different forms in all manner of settings: Industrial, Outdoor and Street Lighting, Restaurants, Display Lighting and yes, you might not give a second thought to—the headlights of your car. High Intensity Discharge Lamps go by names such as Ceramic Metal Halide, Pulse start and Probe start Metal Halide, Mercury Vapor Lamps, Exotic Mercury Vapor lamps, Low and High-Pressure Sodium Vapor Lamps, Parabolic shape lamps, etc. High-intensity discharge lamps are a type of arc lamp which does not have a filament but uses a revolutionary concept in which xenon gas, used with other gases, produces light, employing an electric arc between tungsten electrodes housed inside a translucent or transparent fused-quartz or fused-alumina arc tube.
Whew! That was wordy... TL;DR: HID lamps don't use a filament, but rely on a mix of gases that react when introduced to an electric current.
HID Lamps produce 300% more light along with a 35% reduction in their consumption of electricity! What's more, HID Lamps have come a long way since they were first introduced, and at GoodBulb we use cutting-edge technology across the full spectrum of HID Lamps to make them more energy-efficient. Our lighting experts can offer you the best possible lighting solutions and can assist with projects from planning to installation for large lighting areas.
LIGHT BULB MOMENTS
Sodium and Mercury Vapor lighting have been around since the middle of the 20th century, in commercial production since the 1930s, and it generally represents a high-efficiency way to provide illumination over a vast area. The differences between the two are noted by the elements present within the glass bulb, as well as their color output. While both are used in commercial settings due to their exceptional efficiency, neither are a suitable choice for indoor use where color detail is vital.High Pressure and Low Pressure Sodium (HPS and LPS) lamps emit a yellow-orange light that renders color detail in its light cast very poorly, taking away details that may be needed in certain settings and situations. As such, HPS lamps are limited in their applications to industrial and outdoor areas where long life, low maintenance, and efficiency are the key factors. Mercury Vapor (MV) lamps, the oldest of the High Intensity Discharge (HID) lamp technologies, produce light on the blue end of the spectrum which, like their Sodium counterparts, renders colors very poorly. To counter this, most MV lamps are covered in a phosphor coating to change the color temperature and attempt to improve on its ability to render color in its light cast. Mercury vapor lamps have been used in many lighting applications, from streets and parking lots to landscape lighting, factories and gymnasiums since the 1940s. With ever-improving technologies, however, Mercury Vapor lamps are no longer a go-to choice for most applications due to their outdated functions and performance.
DID YOU KNOW?
Humans are capable of seeing ultraviolet light - you know, the radiant energy that exists just outside the normal range of visible light and is responsible for giving you a summer tan. Humans CAN see this light, but our eyes passively filter this out. Those who undergo certain eye surgeries, however, come out on the other side with the ability to see higher-energy colors in the UV spectrum! Think night vision akin to the capabilities of some lizards, or a rave party in the dark but without the need for a black light to make colors glow.
People who experience this phenomenon, known as aphakia, have reported perceiving colors in the normal range differently, as well as detecting a purple-white hue mixed in with the rest of what they see. This is a condition that can be adjusted or corrected with glasses or an artificial lens.
