In the Spotlight#5: Mercury Vapor Lamps

Today’s article will be on mercury vapor lamps. In the past we have received many questions regarding these HID lamps so I will provide you with an introduction to them and give you the necessary information to help you decide whether it is the correct lamp for your needs. The mercury vapor lamp is generally used in outdoor and industrial settings including street lighting, industrial hi-bay lighting, parking lots, and other flood lighting applications. The mercury vapor lamp is one of the easiest HID lamps to understand. It operates as all HID lamps do, an initial pulse of current ionizes the gas in the bulb which allows it to be sufficiently excited by continued electrical current, exciting the gas inside (mercury in this case) and produces light, or photons. The excitation of mercury takes place within the lamp's arc tube, specifically between the electrodes within the arc tube. Metal halide lamps and high pressure sodium lamps use a mixture of gasses and metals, but mercury vapor lamps uses, you guessed it, mercury vapor exclusively. The different metal and gas combinations of HID lamps give them their characteristic light qualities. Mercury vapor lamps are characterized by moderately good color rendering and bright light. One of the main reasons for mercury vapor lamps’ better color rendering is that many of them come with phosphor coatings which markedly improves color rendering.

It is no wonder, given its moderately good color rendering and various applications, that mercury vapor lamps come in a wide range of wattages, from 100w or less to 1,000w. Mercury vapor lamps typically come in medium screw base or mogul screw base sizes, unless they are short arc lamps, which require an M4 base or another type of base.

That is about all you need to know for familiarizing yourself with mercury vapor lamps. Of course we could've gotten far more technical, and if you want to know more, or know something in greater detail I would be happy to field your questions. Also, call 1-877-622-0897 if any other issues that may crop up. If you are ready to start looking for your own mercury vapor lamp then check out what we have to offer, you won’t be disappointed.
By The Lighting Specialist | 31 August, 2010 | 0 comments
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