High-Intensity Discharge lamps are known for their high levels of light output. Because of this you will most likely find them in or outside commercial or industrial buildings, being used to light up large indoor areas, or illuminating outdoor areas during night and early mornings. The most common uses are as street lights, security lights, warehouse lights and even automotive headlamps.
The HID lamp manages to achieve its large light output by running a current through two electrodes housed in a quartz tube that contains gas and metal salts designed to increase the light output. An arc of electricity jumps between the two electrodes, which creates light, and gives a higher lumen to watt ratio than fluorescent and incandescent bulbs. This is because the HID design reduces the amount of energy wasted in heat, converting more of the electrical energy into light.
If so, Metal Halides might be for you. They can be used indoors and outdoors and have the best CRI of all the HID bulbs.
Pulse Start MH lamps make use of Pulse Start ballast technology that allows the bulb to last much longer and run more efficiently. Although more expensive than a standard Metal Halide, they eventually pay for themselves.
High Pressure Sodum bulbs are the most efficient of all the HID lamps, but their efficiency comes at the cost of color rendering. They emit a strong yellow light, and are mostly used in areas where efficiency is more of a priority than light quality.
