Advantages of Metal Halide Lamps

• Metal halide lamps have many advantages over fluorescent and incandescent lights. Jupiterimages/Photos.com/Getty Images

  When lighting an area, it can be difficult to know which type of bulb to use. Each kind of light bulb has its own purposes. It's important to consider factors like brightness and energy efficiency as well as the conditions required for the bulb to operate. While it may not always be the first type of lamp that comes to mind, metal halide bulbs are ideal in many situations.

Light Output

• Metal halide lamps produce more intense light than most bulbs. They produce 65 to 115 lumens per watt, much more than incandescent and fluorescent lights. While producing more light, metal halides are actually much smaller than fluorescent tubes. Their small size allows you much more freedom when deciding where to place fixtures. Metal halide lamps are commonly used in places requiring a lot of light and situations where light is needed long distances away from the bulb, like gymnasiums.

Ultraviolet Light

• Unlike incandescent and many fluorescent lights, metal halide lamps produce light that covers the ultraviolet spectrum. Metal halide lights can be used to grow plants indoors because they produce the ultraviolet light needed for plant life. Many people also use metal halide lamps with their aquariums. The ultraviolet light helps coral in the aquariums grow. Ultraviolet light also produces endorphins in humans. These endorphins allow people to combat common afflictions like seasonal affective disorder.

Energy Efficiency

• It may be surprising to learn that despite producing much more light than incandescent bulbs, metal halide lamps actually use less energy. According to VentureLighting.com, metal halide lamps are three to five times more efficient than incandescent lights. With rising energy costs, many people are looking for replacement lights that use less electricity. When you consider that a metal halide lamp uses less electricity than an incandescent bulb but produces enough light to replace several of them, metal halide lights become a great choice.

Temperature

• In cold temperatures, the filament inside an incandescent bulb becomes brittle and can break, causing the bulb to burn out much earlier than it should. Fluorescent lights are designed to operate at a temperature of 70 degrees Fahrenheit. When it gets colder, fluorescent lights will flicker and often do not light at all. Metal halide lamps do not suffer from these issues. They can operate in temperatures both higher and lower than the ideal conditions for incandescent and fluorescent lights. This resistance to temperatures combined with the increased brightness makes metal halide lamps an ideal choice for outdoor use.