Understanding Hid Light Technology

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High Intensity Discharge (HID) lighting technology replaces the filament of the light bulb with a capsule of gas. The light is emitted from an arc discharge between two closely spaced electrodes hermetically sealed inside a small quartz glass tubular envelope capsule. To operate, they require ballasts, which supply proper voltage and control current. The amount of light produced is greater than a standard halogen bulb, while consuming less power, and more closely approximating the color temperature of natural daylight.

In all High Intensity Discharge lamps, light is produced by passing a current through a metal vapor. Free electrons colliding with an atom in the vapor momentarily knock an electron into a higher orbit of the atom. When the displaced electron falls back to its former level, a quantum of radiation is emitted. The wavelength of radiation depends on the energy zone of the disturbed electron and on the type of metal vapor used in the arc tube.

HID lighting has several advantages over conventional halogen primary lights:
More light output. The HID lamp's lumens per watt (LPW) efficacy ...
... is roughly six to eight times that of an incandescent lamp.
Whiter light. The color temperature of HID lighting more closely approximates the color temperature of natural daylight than does a halogen system, which appears yellowish in comparison. We use the term

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This article has been written by the staff of Magnalight.com
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