Metal Halide or HPS - What's the Difference?

Metal Halide or HPS - What's the Difference?

Metal Halide (MH) and High Pressure Sodium (HPS) are the two most commonly used high efficiency light sources.

Common Features:

  • Both are High Intensity Discharge (HID) light sources
  • Both require a warm up period of approximately 4 minutes to reach full brilliance.
  • Both require a ballast a provide the correct electrical environment for the lamp
  • Both have relatively long lamp life (MH = 10,000 hours & HPS = 24,000 hours) compared to the 2000 hours for non HID (incandescent & quartz) lamps
  • Both have arc tubes containing a light emitting gas

Differences:

Feature

Metal Halide (MH)

High Pressure Sodium (HPS)

Efficiency in Lumens per Watt

83

107

Lamp Life

10,000 hours

24,000 hours

Light Color

Bluish White

Yellow-Orange

Color Rendition (CRI)

65

21
In summary:
  • Choose HPS if you want the maximum in energy efficiency and lamp life
  • Choose MH if you want the excellent color rendition with good efficiency


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