METAL HALIDE LAMPS

Environmental Control II Prof. Emad Afifi Jesus A. Pineda Barrientos

Metal-halide lamps were invented in the 1960’s as the next
innovation to follow mercury vapor lamps.
The name comes from the metal halide compounds used to create
the illumination.
A metal halide is a metal compound that utilizes bromine or iodine.

Metal halide generates light

closer to sunlight than any
other HID light source
It is becoming increasingly popular due to its
good quality white light and good efficiency.
Metal halide lamps are often chosen for all
kinds of uses, but they are most common for
outdoor venue lighting, warehouse
illumination, parking lot illumination, security
flood lights, and automotive headlights.
When used for automotive applications metal
halides are known as xenon lamps.

Advantages:
*More pure white light than the popular HPS lamps, close to daylight
frequencies, which allows it to be used for growing plants
*More energy efficient than mercury vapor and halogen lamps, great lumen
output
*Good for indoor (high ceiling areas - "high bay" applications) and outdoor use
due to good light quality

Disadvantages:
*Expensive per-bulb cost: expensive to manufacture - many parts to assemble
and materials are not cheap
*Light pollution: the light is so bright that it produces much more light pollution
than HPS or LPS street lamps, the whites from an MH lamp are closer to daylight
in frequency.
History and Developments
1912 Charles P. Steinmetz is the first to use halide salts in a mercury vapor lamp. He used the halides
to correct color and was successful, but he could not get a consistent arc. The complex phenomena
of plasma physics was still being explored. Steinmetz's arc would dance around allowing the
temperature in the discharge tube to drop, the lower temperatures would stop the halide salts from
burning and the color and intensity of the lamp would shift.

1962 Robert Reiling used recent developments in the high pressure mercury vapor lamp to create
the first reliable MH lamp. A fused quartz discharge tube with molybdenum and tungsten sealed
electrodes were just developed to deal with the destructive high temps of high pressure mercury
lamps. Reiling built on the work of Steinmetz to complete the work. The MH lamp became more
popular decades later as the price of the lamp became more affordable.

2001 Frederick Espiau, Chandrashekhar Joshi & Yian Chang invented the LEP or lighting emitting
plasma lamp. (Luxim Corp.) The lamp could be considered both a metal halide lamp and
electrodeless induction lamp. The lamp has not reached full market potential yet since it is so
new.
The first MH lamp, illustrating the arc path.
The tube was bowed to follow the arc path
because the arc was highly destructive to
glass. This was a lower pressure lamp than
the modern MH lamp.
1960s: One of the first multi-vapors ever
put in production, 400 W. An early MH lamp
by General Electric. It had the starting
electrode on the top of the discharge tube,
this is why there are two wires leading up to
the top. This design is no longer used.
 Performance
Long Life
Metal halide lamps have an average life of 15,000-
20,000+ hours, more than ten times that of
incandescent.
Better Light Quality
The output of metal halide lamps is closer to natural
sunlight than most other light sources. People prefer
white light because of better visual acuity, even at
lower light levels.
Designable Color
Metal halide lamps can be designed to produce almost
any color temperature desired, from 2700K to
20,000K. Specialty colors, including blue, green, aqua
and pink, can also be produced.
Excellent Color Rendering
Metal halide offers excellent color rendering, with a 65-90 CRI (color rendering
index).
Compact Size
Metal halide generates high light levels from a compact light source. This allows
for smaller, more controllable luminaires.
Versatility
Metal halide lamps are relatively unaffected by ambient temperature, equally
suited for indoor or outdoor use. Extensive style and wattage options allow for
many applications.
High Efficiency
Metal halide lamps generate 65-115 lumens per watt, more than incandescent,
fluorescent or mercury vapor lamps. (see chart at right)

Positive Environmental Impact

A more efficient light Since metal halide lamps deliver light more efficiently than incandescent,
source also means less widespread acceptance of the technology has a positive effect on air quality and
waste.
the environmental waste stream. Lower electrical power generating requirements
means less air pollution.
Metal halide lamps are so useful as they
are one of the more energy efficient
sources of light with a high color rendering
capability.
Producing a range of 80-100 lumens per
watt, they also boast a very high efficacy.
One of their few drawbacks however is
that the lamp needs to heat to an optimal
running temperature in order for the
sodium to disassociate from the iodide and
produce the full spectrum of light.
This warm-up period can last as long as a
few minutes depending on the
temperature of the air around them while
they are not active.
The arc-tube is optimized at 1000-3000˚
celcius.
The lamp utilizes about 24% of the energy
sent to them for illumination.
 Comparison
MH vs. Mercury
MH vs. Incandescent Vapor Mercury lamps have
A 100 watt metal halide lamp long life, but are not as energy
provides five times the lumen output efficient as metal halide,
of a 100 watt incandescent lamp, and producing only 35-58 lumens
will last 20 times longer. Although per watt. Their limited blue-
incandescent has a low initial lamp green light spectrum has a
Five times more efficient than incandescent
cost, metal halide has lower total lower CRI than metal halide.
operating cost over life.

MH vs. Fluorescent
MH vs. HPS Fluorescent lamps are harder to direct because of their
While HPS lamps offer long life, they do larger size. One 100 watt metal halide lamp produces the
not deliver the same light quality as metal same light as three 48" high output T8 fluorescent lamps.
halide. Because of their dominant sodium Metal halide lamps also tolerate a wider operating
content, HPS lamps yield strong yellow temperature range. Fluorescents are often limited to
light (2200K) and have a very poor CRI of temperature-controlled indoor applications. T8
20-25. The full spectrum light of metal fluorescent lamps perform optimally at approximately
halide has a much higher CRI. 77¡F (25¡C), degrading measurably as temperature varies.
T5 lamps perform similarly, but peak at 95¡F (35¡C).
 How it works

1. When the lamp is cold the halides and mercury are condensed on the fuzed
quartz tube. When the lamp is turned on current passed through the starting
electrode and jumps the short distance to the main electrode (see the diagram
below), this is aided by argon gas. The argon gas strikes an arc at low
temperatures.
2. After the initial small arc the tube heats up and the mercury is vaporized.
Electric arcs fight to work through the resistance of a gas, but over time more
molecules of the gas become ionized. This makes it even easier for more electric
current to pass through, so the arc gets wider and hotter. In the lamp as the first
arc heats up, it begins to turn the solid mercury into a vapor, soon the arc is able
to travel through the mercury vapor to reach the other main electrode on the
opposite side of the discharge tube. There is less resistance on this path now
and current stops flowing through the starting electrode, just as a river changes
course to a path of least resistance, drying out the previous channel.
3. After a mercury vapor arc strikes and heats, the halides vaporize and the halides
dissociate. The metal atoms diffuse away from the arc to cooler areas and
recombine with the halogen before they damage any part of the silica or
electrodes. The lamp is now fully warmed up and produces its white light.
Metal halide work lamps are clearly visible in construction on the
world trade center tower (there are no walls to block work lights yet
in this photo)
Construction
The high pressure and temperature of this light would normally react and destroy the
silica in normal glass. Fused quartz is used due to a high melting temperature, and by
using halogens the destructive process is stopped.

Tungsten has the highest melting point of any metal and therefore it makes the best
electrode material. The tungsten is treated with radioactive thorium (Thl4)(ThO2).
This helps increase the life of the tungsten and lamp itself.

Borosilicate glass is used in the outer envelope (bulb) due to its ability to insulate as
well as block UV-B radiation coming from the arc. The bulb also prevents users from
touching and fouling the fused quartz discharge tube with oil from the skin. The
mercury vapor arc in the metal halide lamp produces UV light. Borosilicate glass, also
known as Pyrex insulates the lamp, insulating the lamp is extremely important to
keep the color constant. Some halides have a lower vaporization point and will begin
to drop out of the discharge if the lamp gets colder. The halides are designed in a
balance to create the desired white light, loss of the the Agl halide for example will
make the lamp turn more blue. Stabilizing the MH lamp arc and color was the main
problem that Steinmetz wasn't equipped to solve in the first lamps of 1912.
Sources
http://hid.venturelighting.com/TechCenter/Metal-Halide-TechIntro.html
http://www.lrc.rpi.edu/programs/nlpip/lightinganswers/mwmhl/work.asp
http://www.edisontechcenter.org/metalhalide.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metal-halide_lamp