When compared to LEDs, one of the major advantages that mercury vapor lamps offer comes down to cost. Although the cost of LEDs continues to drop, they are still much more expensive and can sometimes be cost-prohibitive for contractors to fully use in a project. White light is created through the use of multiple colors of LEDs, which is obviously something mercury vapor lamps do not need to do. However, an advantage of LEDs is the fact they come in such a variety of colors, it's easy for them to be used in areas -- like retail -- that mercury vapor lamps usually are not.
Other advantages LEDs offer are an even longer light life, increased energy efficiency, and the fact they contain no mercury, making them environmentally friendly. The store will not work correctly in the case when cookies are disabled. Request Call For Price. Request quote. What is a Mercury Vapor Lamp?
Web Order posted this at May 24, All About Mercury Vapor Lamps Before there were metal halide lamps, there was the mercury vapor lamp. History of the Mercury Vapor Lamp The history of the mercury vapor lamp goes all the way back to , when an English inventor and scientist by the name of Charles Wheatstone first started experimenting with what would happen when an arc of electricity was passed through mercury vapor. Energy Efficiency -- When compared to incandescents -- and even some fluorescent options -- mercury vapor lamps use less energy and have greater luminous efficacies.
Bright White Light -- Mercury vapor lamps are highly regarded for their ability to produce a very clean white light, especially when compared to earlier lighting options. Long Lamp Life -- Generally speaking, mercury vapor lamps will last for at least 24, hours, with many lasting even longer.
This makes them a great option for hard-to-get fixtures, such as in factories, sports arenas, and streetlights. And now we'll look at the cons: Phasing Out -- Probably the largest con to mercury vapor lamps is that the United States government is working on phasing them out as a lighting option.
And the European Union is reportedly working to begin banning mercury vapor lamps as of Blue-Green Light -- Due to the materials used to produce light in a mercury vapor lamp, the light it emits can sometimes have a very blue-green tinge to it. This has ultimately made these type of lamps not a great option for retail applications and other indoor uses as they can cause human skin color to look very "off.
Mercury Issues -- Like with other lighting options, the fact that mercury vapor lamps contain mercury has caused quite a concern for end users. Because of this, they cannot be disposed of easily. Although the outer bulb helps to keep much of the radiation away from the end user, if the outer bulb was to break and the inner arc tube kept emitting light, the amount of UV radiation could potentially cause serious health risks for those exposed to it. Mercury Vapor Lamp vs.
Cancel Continue Shopping. According to the ban, existing fixtures can remain in service but, as they burn out, they must be replaced with newer, more efficient lighting alternatives. Similar laws have been passed in the European Union, which set as the year when mercury lamps will no longer be approved for lighting purposes. A mercury vapor lamp is a type of high intensity discharge HID lamp that is typically used for commercial and outdoor lighting.
It was the original metal vapor style of light fixture to be mass produced for general purpose lighting. The mercury vapor lamp works by creating an electric current to mercury vapor within a sealed glass jacket.
The bulb is comprised of an inner tube, called the arc tube, and an outer jacket or bulb. As with fluorescent lights, mercury vapor lamps require a ballast to supply the proper voltage and regulate the current to the electrodes.
The ballast is designed to be used with a specific size, or wattage, of bulb. Using a mercury vapor lamp with a ballast that was made for a higher wattage bulb might damage it or cause it to explode. Using too small of a ballast will result in lower light output and can shorten the life of the bulb. Risks and benefits of mercury vapor lamps according to the FDA. Mercury vapor lamps are used because they are dependable, with a long service life and have shown to be one of the longest running lamps with a good return on investment for commercial lighting.
When used with the correct ballast and properly maintained, a mercury vapor lamp has a long service life. The average life expectancy is more than 24, hours, or nearly three years of continuous use. We know there are limits to the allowed use of mercury vapor lights today, yet there are still very important applications and reasons to use this time tested light source:. Mercury vapor lamps have found the greatest use in industrial applications and outdoor lighting, because of their low cost and long life, and lamp sizes of up to 1, watts.
Because mercury lamps are so prevalent in the current outdoor lighting infrastructure, and still safe when properly installed in a serviceable fixture, the need for these products will continue for many more years. Skip to content. In fact, mercury vapor lighting is being phased out in the U. The Energy Policy Act of banned the manufacture and sale of these products, effective in January, So it makes sense to replace older mercury vapor lighting with newer HID lighting, right?
Well, it can get complicated, as I learned a few months ago when the Dummerston Energy Committee sought to save energy in the town by replacing the old mercury-vapor lights along West Street in West Dummerston with newer metal-halide lights. It's a story that illustrates the challenges one can face in trying to do the right thing. A resident and amateur astronomer living across the West River from the village had approached the Dummerston Selectboard and Energy Committee about replacing the mercury vapor street lights because they created glare or light pollution, which affected his views of the night sky.
I was interested, because it was an opportunity to reduce energy use in the town. We contacted Central Vermont Public Service Company CVPS about replacing the older lights with something better and they were very supportive, offering metal halide lights in either full-cutoff or semi-cutoff fixtures.
We decided to test one of each of these fixtures before converting all dozen of the lights. Well, the neighborhood angrily rebelled and was about ready to run me and the Dummerston Energy Committee out of town.
Part of the problem was that the lights were a lot brighter. Even though the new lamps used half the electricity, they were brighter--in part because, as mercury vapor lamps age, their light output drops. The light from the new lamps was also a lot whiter--a property of metal halide lamps.
I think some of the complaints would have happened had we simply replaced the old lamps with new mercury vapor lamps, because the new lamps would have been both brighter and bluer in color. Along with getting dimmer, as mercury vapor lamps age they become yellower, or softer.
More significantly, the fixture design was objectionable. Cut-off fixtures are designed to deliver more light downward, with less escaping horizontally as light pollution. Residents at one house, just across the street from one of the test fixtures, complained because the light shone into the house--part of the problem was that the electric pole on which the fixture was mounted was tilted away from the house, so the fixture's light was directed somewhat upward.
I would have complained too!
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