LED lighting is the choice today over HID lighting because of the advantages LED has over HID. HID is considered by most today to be obsolete technology
Energy Efficient – LEDs are more much efficient than HID and can be 50 to 80% more efficient than HID. This can mean significant savings on your power bill.
Lifetime – HID lamps have a much shorter lifetime than LEDs. HID lamps are rated in average rated life, which means after a certain number of burn hours, half of the lamps have burned out. A typical average life rating for HID lamps is between 10,000 and 24,000 hours. LEDs are rated in average useful life. That typically means when 30% of the light has depreciated, however the LEDs are still burning. We refer to this as L70 which can be as high as 300,000 hours.
Instant On – HID lamps require a warm-up period before getting to full brightness. This can take several minutes. LEDs are instant on to full brightness, no warm-up needed.
Restrike Time – If there is a power interruption, HID lamps require a cool-down period from approximately 4 to 20 minutes before they will restrike and come back on. LEDs instantly restrike, no cool down needed.
Vibration – HID lamps have an arc tube that can break and/or burn out prematurely due to vibration. LEDs are rugged and resistant to this type environment. An application example would be a parking deck.
Lamp Lumen Depreciation – The depreciation of light output (lumens) from HID lamps falls off quickly compared to LEDs. For instance, for a 20,000-lumen metal halide 400W lamp, the light output depreciates as much as 35% during the first 6,000 hours of operation. During this same burn time, LEDs have lost little if any light output.
Hazardous Waste – HID lamps contain mercury which must be disposed of properly. LEDs have no mercury.
Delivered Light Percentage – Up to 40% of the lumens from an HID lamp can be trapped in the fixture and never reach the task area such as a street or parking lot. LEDs use a different system and deliver 100% of their lumens out of the fixture which results in more usable light at the task.
Color Shift – HID metal halide lamps shift in color as the lamp ages. What begins as white light often shifts to a tint of pink or green. LEDs maintain their color consistency and have minimal shift over their entire life.
Dimming – LEDs can be dimmed easily and dimming will increase LED system life. HID dimming is not done often because it is difficult, limited and expensive.
For more information on LED lighting, contact us today.