Both Metal Halide and High Pressure Sodium bulbs are part of the HID family of bulbs. … These bulbs cannot be interchanged without changing their ballast, the regulating element in all light bulbs. Their operation is a bit different and they therefore require different ballasts.

Can I use a MH bulb in a HPS ballast?

Yes, you’re allowed to change your mind—at least when it comes to MH and HPS lighting. Although the two fixtures use what are normally incompatible ballasts, conversion bulbs will let you switch lighting types. Some conversion bulbs allow MH light to work with HPS ballasts, and others let HPS work with MH ballasts.

Can you put a metal halide bulb in a regular light fixture?

Like fluorescent lights, metal halides require a ballast to provide high starting voltages and to regulate current inside the bulb during operation. … This is why a metal halide bulb will not work in a standard household lighting fixture — aside from the fact that the larger E39 base will not fit.

What is the difference between MH and HPS bulbs?

Metal Halide (MH) lamps provide more of the blue spectrum, which is ideal for leafy crops, and/or plants that are in a vegetative stage. … High Pressure Sodium (HPS) lamps provide more yellow/red spectrum, which is ideal for most plants that are actively fruiting and flowering.

Can you put a LED bulb in a high pressure sodium fixture?

High pressure sodium bulbs (“lamps”) are an old standby for lighting that’s still used today in spite of so much talk of LED lights. … LEDs, however, are better able to control their light, which is why a lower-watt LED can replace a higher-watt high pressure sodium bulb.

What is better for flowering HPS or MH?

Ironically, most HID grow light enthusiasts recommend using both MH and HPS grow lights. MH grow lights (metal halide) are suited best for vegetative growth and HPS grow lights are superior for flowering.

Which is better metal halide or high pressure sodium?

Metal halide is much less efficient than high pressure sodium–MH produces much less light per watt; MH produces more glare due to the blue light component and increases adaptation time; MH more effectively shuts off melatonin production which can trigger tumor growth; MH contains more mercury within the bulbs; MH …

Can you flower under metal halide?

The lack of red light does not fare well for cannabis plants long term, but does not cause a significant shade avoidance response light metal halide or tungsten lamps do, which emit high amounts of far-red, which causes plants to stretch.

What is a metal halide bulb used for?

Metal-halide lamps are used for general lighting purposes both indoors and outdoors, such as commercial, industrial, and public spaces, parking lots, sports arenas, factories, and retail stores, as well as residential security lighting; automotive and specialty applications are further fields of usage.

Can I replace metal halide with LED?

LED Offers Long Life, Lower Energy Costs, Instant On and Control Options. … A 400 watt metal halide bulb can be replaced with a 200 watt LED. A 100 watt metal halide can be replaced with a 50 watt LED. Implementing an LED replacement program should result in a 50% reduction in annual energy use (kWh) costs.

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Do you need a ballast for metal halide lamps?

Metal halide (MH) ballasts are required to start the lamp, regulate the lamp starting and lamp operating currents, and provide appropriate sustaining supply voltage. … Regulating lamp current and power: The ballast regulates the lamp operating current flowing through the lamp after the lamp has been started.

Can you touch metal halide bulbs?

You should be extremely careful never to get skin oils or anything else on a small MH lamp (the small ones are around the size of a fingertip or so). This will definitely harm the lamp and can cause premature failure.

When should a metal halide bulb be replaced?

In the case of Metal Halide, most manufacturers rate these HID light bulbs with a life of approximately 20,000 hours. This rating traditionally means the point in which 50% of the lamps will fail, but in the case of maintenance, this is the DO NOT EXCEED time of all lamps. At this point, all lamps should be replaced.

Are high pressure sodium lights being phased out?

Phasing out A number of popular lighting types will have to be phased out by 2017 including selected ‘standard’ high-pressure sodium (including retrofit), high-pressure mercury, and standard performance metal halide.

Do high pressure sodium lights use a lot of electricity?

High pressure sodium fixtures are not as energy efficiency as LEDs. In fact, LED bulbs use between 40-75% less electricity than a HPS fixture.

How do you convert a high pressure sodium bulb to LED?

1. 70 watt HPS = 40 watt LED.
2. 100 watt HPS = 50-60 watt LED.
3. 150 watt HPS = 80-90 watt LED.
4. 250 watt HPS = 90-125 watt LED.

Is metal halide better than LED?

LEDs tend to last much longer and are a more energy efficient and less maintenance intensive technology. Metal halides have long warm-up periods and a shorter lifespan but produce a very high quality light and are one of the most efficient lights when it comes to very cool color temperature outputs.

Will HPS work for veg?

In response to the general question, can you use an HPS bulb for veg, the answer is yes. … Basically you can use just about any light out there for any stage of growth, the real question is how well do each bulb work for veg.

Can you use two different grow lights together?

Yes, you can. Different color light strips can be used together. As long as the voltage and current used by each lamp strip are the same, they can be used together.

Can I use a MH bulb for flowering?

Due to the lack of red wavelengths in their spectrum, MH lights are not good at flowering plants on their own, though. This is the reason growers will use MH bulbs for vegging and HPS bulbs for flowering. Or even better, they use both bulbs simultaneously, for a much more complete spectrum.

How much area does 600W HPS cover?

600-Watt HPS grow lights are the most efficient HPS grow lamp. 600W HPS grow lights produce more light output per Watt used than other wattages and cover around 36 square feet. 1000-Watt HPS grow lights are the most powerful and cover a wider area of around 49 square feet.

Is metal halide same as halogen?

The key difference between halogen and metal halide is that a halogen is a group 17 chemical element, whereas metal halide is a compound containing a metal and a halogen. Metal halides are ionic or covalent compounds of halogens.

How do I identify a metal halide lamp?

Designation of MH lamps that follow the ANSI system starts with “M” followed by a number (an “H” designation stands for mercury vapor lamps, and “S” for sodium lamps), which identifies the lamp’s electrical characteristics and, consequently, the appropriate ballast.

Can you dim a metal halide bulb?

All EYE Metal Halide lamps, except, Multi-Metal Ace™ family, can be dimmed up to 80% of the lamp nominal wattage on EYE Lighting approved dimming ballast systems. Lamps must be operated at least 15 minutes at full power prior to dimming.

Do I need to remove the ballast to use an LED bulb?

A plug and play LED is a fixture where you can install LED bulbs to what was once a fluorescent bulb. This is an easy solution and requires minimal effort on your part. Since it works with the existing ballast, there is no need for rewiring or ballast removal.

What are the different types of metal halide bulbs?

Metal halide lamps are available in several different base types, with medium (E26) or mogul (E39) bases being the most common. They also have clear, coated, or shatter resistant lenses. These lamps come in assorted color temperatures and multiple burn positions.

Why do metal halide bulbs explode?

Metal halide (MH) lamps can explode (typically referred to as sudden nonpassive failure) because they operate at high pressures, but some products are manufactured with safety features to prevent injury. … Some MH lamps are self-extinguishing-they will automatically extinguish if the outer envelope is broken.

How long do metal halide bulbs take to turn on?

Metal halide (MH) lamps do not achieve their full light output immediately after starting. Rather, they require a period of time-1 to 15 minutes-to reach 90% of their full light output.

What are the signs of a bad ballast?

• Buzzing. If you hear a strange sound coming from your bulbs or light fixture, like a buzzing or humming noise, that’s often a sign your ballast is going. …
• Dimming or flickering. …
• No lights at all. …
• Changing colors. …
• Swollen casing. …
• Burn marks. …
• Water damage. …
• Leaking oil.

Can you touch a mercury vapor bulb?

Breathing mercury vapors in air is the most common way to be exposed to elemental mercury, and is the most harmful to your health. … If you touch mercury for a short period of time a small amount may pass through your skin, but not enough to harm you.

What is the average life of sodium Vapour lamp?

The efficiency of a sodium vapour lamp under practical conditions is about 40-50 lumens/watt. Such lamps are manufactured in 45, 60, 85 and 140 W ratings. The average life is about 3000 hours and is not affected by voltage variations.