DON MARIANO MARCOS MEMORIAL STATE UNIVERSITY

MID- LA UNION CAMPUS

COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT

ELECTRICAL SYSTEMS &

ILLUMINATION ENGINEERING
DESIGN
(EEPC 112)

ENGR. PABLO DIAZ GURTIZA, JR.

1st Sem.SY-2021-2022

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Lesson 3

 High Intensity Discharged

Lamps

HIGH INTENSITY DISCHARGE (HID) LIGHT SOURCES

 These are a family of gas-discharge arc lamps which create light by
sending an electrical discharge between two electrodes and through a
plasma, or ionized gas
 Produces high intensity light within an arc tube contained in an outer
bulb. The metallic gas within the arc tube may be mercury, sodium or
a combination of other metallic vapors.
 These lamps are known for their high efficiency at turning electricity
into light and their long-rated life.
 HID lamps require a ballast in order to generate the initial surge of
electricity needed to start them and to regulate their power during
normal operation.

CLASSIFICATIONS OF HIGH INTENSITY DISCHARGE (HID) LAMPS

1. MERCURY- contain mercury vapor and produces bluish white light,

used for industrial and outdoor application.
- combination of the arc discharge characteristics of a
fluorescent lamp and the compact focusable shape of an
incandescent lamp. The combination effect is responsible for its
efficiency and long life in various uses.

Mercury vapor lamps are the oldest high-intensity discharge lamps in

existence, although they are rapidly becoming outmoded by high-pressure
sodium, metal halide and fluorescent lamps.
Despite their drop in popularity, however, these lamps are one of the
most dependable forms of both indoor and outdoor lighting. Some mercury
vapor lamps have been known to last for 40 years.

Special Features of Mercury Lamp

 It is available in wide variety of shape, size and color with rating from
50 to 150 watts.
 It requires ballast that could be mounted away from the lamp
 Because of its high efficiency, mercury lamp is a good replacement
for incandescent lamp in the conservation of energy.
 Dimming of mercury lamp is possible with a dimming ballast.

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A Typical High Pressure Mercury Lamp

Lamp Life of a Mercury lamp

• The lamp life of a mercury lamp is extremely long with an average of
24,000 hours based on 10 burning hours per start.
• Mercury lamp is not suitable for installation which is subject to
constant switching. Thus, long period of burning per start is
preferred.
• The life of lamp if affected by
a. Ambient temperature
b. Line voltage
c. Ballast design
• Lamp is replaced if accelerated lumens depreciation is near the end
of its life span.
• Clear lamp has the best lumen maintenance; followed by the color
improved and phosphors coated units
Types of ballast of a Mercury Lamps
1. Reactor Ballast is a low power factor and does not require voltage
regulation. This is only used where line voltage fluctuation does not
exceed plus or minus 5%.
2. Auto transformer Ballast is a reactor unit with transformer to match line
voltage to lamp voltage. It has a low power factor and non-
regulating.

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3. High Power Factor Auto Transformer Ballast is the same as type 2

except the additional capacitor to improve the power factor.
4. Constant Wattage Auto Transformer Ballast is also called Lead Circuit
Ballast. A regulating high power factor unit that maintains lamp
voltage making wattage and lumen output constant. The lamp
wattage varies from 5% with a 10% voltage change.
Dimming Ballast
Dimming of mercury lamp is possible by using a dimmer ballast and a
solid-state dimming control available tot 400-700 and 1000 Watts. A little
use but effective and economic output reduction process, could be done by
simply changing the circuit capacitance with an amount depending upon the
lamp size and ballast type. As such, the lamp wattage and output can be
reduced by approximately 50% with no adverse effect on lamp or ballast.
Special Type of Mercury Lamp
A small-mercury lamp to replace interior incandescent lamps are
available in 40; 50; 75 to 100 and 175 watts, sizes in deluxe white, and
other color corrected design.
Self-Ballast Lamp (un-ballasted) is available on where ballast
mounting is impractical and inconvenient. Small size mercury lamps are also
available to replace incandescent lamps. However, where a self-ballasted
mercury lamp is contemplated, fluorescent lamp is a better choice
considering the following advantages:
1. lower in cost,
2. longer life,
3. high efficiency,
4. Good color,
5. more attractive
6. lower energy cost.

2. Metal Halide (MH)

 it is basically a Mercury Lamp, improved by the addition of
halides of metals such as thallium, Indium, or Sodium to the
arc tube. The addition of this salts, makes the light frequency
radiate other than the basic mercury colors and at the same
instance, increases its efficacy, but reduces the life and
lumens maintenance to about 60% at two thirds life.
 It is an HID lamp (High Intensity Discharge), which means it
provides most of its light from the electric arc within a small
discharge tube. 
 It is becoming increasingly popular due to its good quality
white light and good efficiency. The most prominent use of the

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MH lamp is in stadiums and sports fields. It is also used widely

for parking lots and street lighting in urban areas. 

Anatomy of a typical mogul-based metal halide lamp (source

Venture Lighting™)
Other Characteristics of Metal Halide Lamp
 The color depends on the amount of iodized-halide salt in the arc. Its
performance is extremely sensitive to voltage, temperature and
burning position.
 Strike time is shorter than that of the mercury lamp from 2 to 3
minutes.
 The re-strike time is up to 10 minutes making little inconvenience in
indoor areas that needs immediate tight.
 Certain metal halides are usable with mercury lamp ballast

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Bulb- A bulb designation consists of a letters to indicate the shape and a

numbers to indicate approximate maximum diameter in eights of an
inch. Thus, an E17 lamp is an ellipsoidal shape and 17/8 of an inch or
2 1/8 inches in diameter. Other letter designations include
Bt:Bulbous Tubular; E or ED: Ellipsoidal: ET= Ellipsoidal Tubular: PAR-
Parabolic; R-Reflector: T-Tubular.

Ballasts of a Metal Halide Lamp

The ballast provides the proper starting voltage, operating
voltage and current to the lamp to initiate and sustain its arc. High
intensity discharge (HID) lamps have negative resistance, which
causes them to draw an increasing amount of current; hence, they
require a current-limiting device. The ballast provides the following
functions:
• It provides starting voltage and, in some cases, ignition pulses. All
ballasts must provide some specific minimum voltage to ignite the
lamp. In the case of pulse start lamps, an additional high voltage
pulse is needed to ionize the gases within the lamp. These pulses are
superimposed near the peak starting voltage waveform;
• It regulates the lamp’s current and power. The ballast limits the
current through the lamp once it has started. The ballast’s current is
set to a level that delivers the proper power to the lamp. In addition,
the ballast regulates the lamp’s current through the range of typical
line voltage variations, thereby keeping the lamp’s power fairly
stable to maximize the lamp’s life and performance and;

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• It provides appropriate sustaining voltage and current wave shape to

achieve the lamp’s rated life. The ballast provides sufficient voltage
to sustain the lamp as it ages.
Ballast Configurations
(1) Core & Coil Ballasts- The most commonly used ballast is the core and
coil type, which basically consists of a transformer (core and coil) and
a capacitor. Core-coil ballasts are sold as kits, which include the
transformer, capacitor (and ignitor, if needed) and mounting rails.
These ballasts are the cheapest kind because they are mass-produced
for commercial MH lighting purposes.
(2) F-can Ballasts - The F-can ballast is very similar in appearance to the
fluorescent ballast is potted in fluorescent type cans and utilizes
asphalt based insulating materials. F-can ballasts may also have
thermal protectors, which cut off power to the ballast if it overheats.
These ballasts are also called tar ballasts due to the black asphalt-
based material used in their construction.
(3) Electronic Ballasts- Recently, electronic ballasts based on digital
electronics have become available for metal halide lamps.
Manufacturers claim that these ballasts provide better performance
in a smaller package, have a high power factor, save energy,
generate less heat, have less change in output power and have lower
maintenance costs than F-can and core/coil ballasts. Manufacturers
also claim that high frequency ignition reduces blackening on the arc
tube’s wall, which gives better color stability and longer lamp life. In
addition, electronic ballasts can dim the lamp up to 33% of its full
light output.
3. High pressure Sodium (HPS)- was first developed and introduced by
General Electric Co. (GE) This is one of the latest developments in
the high intensity discharge (HID) lamps. It is marked under the trade
name Lucalux, Ceramalux and Analox. The efficacy and ballast losses,
is almost 100 lumen per watt, which is double that of a colored
corrected mercury lamp.It is smaller in size, high output , and longer
life.
One outstanding feature of this lamp is its output. The
efficiency and ballast losses, is almost 100 lumen per watt, which is
double that of a colored corrected mercury lamp. It has a yellowish
color similar to a low wattage incandescent lamp, and a warm white
fluorescent lamp. It is smaller in size, high output, and longer life.
But like all high intensity discharge lamps, sodium lamps do not start
instantaneously. The start re-strike time required, is shorter than
that of a mercury lamp. Unlike the metal halide lamp, the HPS is not
sensitive to voltage changes. Its color is constant, and the ballast is

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different from that of the mercury or metal halide lamps that needs
higher voltage.

Advantages:
-Good efficiency (lumens per watt)
-Smaller size than LPS or fluorescent, the HPS fits into many fixture
types
-Can be retrofitted into older Mercury Vapor fixtures
-Better bulb life than LPS lamps

Disadvantages:
-Still has a bad color rendering compared to metal halide and halogen
lamps
-Requires a lossy ballast (inefficient) that operates a low arc voltage

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of 52-100V. This reduces the actual efficiency of the lamp when you
count the whole system together.
In a high-pressure sodium lamp, a compact arc tube contains a
mixture of xenon, sodium and mercury. The xenon gas which is easily
ionized, facilitates striking the arc when voltage is applied across the
electrodes. The heat generated by the arc then vaporizes the mercury and
sodium. The mercury vapor raises the gas pressure and operating voltage,
and the sodium vapor produces light when the pressure within the arc tube
is sufficient. High pressure sodium lamps are the most efficient artificial
white light source with about 29% of the energy used by the lamp producing
light.

MISCELLANEOUS LIGHT SOURCES

1. SHORT ARC LAMPS OR COMPACT ARC LAMPS
- is generally a spherical or slightly oblong quartz bulb with two electrodes
penetrating far into the bulb so that the tips of the electrodes are only a
few millimeters apart. An arc is formed between these electrodes. The
bulb is filled with xenon, mercury vapor, or a mixture of these at high
pressure. There are now metal halide short arc lamps. The wattage can be
anywhere from under a hundred watts to 15 kilowatts, although less than
about 150-200 watts is definitely a low power version. With the small arc
size and this amount of power, the arc is extremely intense.
- Short arc lamps are usually used in movie theater projectors, searchlights,
specialized medical equipment with fiberoptic light delivery means, some
stage spotlights ("followspots"), and some scientific equipment requiring an
extremely intense light source. The high cost, short lifetime, limited
efficiency, and major safety hazards of short arc lamps make them
impractical for general purpose lighting.
2. LOW PRESSURE SODIUM (LPS) LAMPS
- The LPS lamp was the first sodium lamp to be developed. It is known by its
signature monochromatic yellow color. It is among the most efficient lamps
in the world because it uses all the current it gets to create light at the
most sensitive color (frequency) to the human eye. The energy used to
make non-visible light is a waste of energy since it does not help do the
principle job of an electric light. The LPS lamp is also called a SOX lamp (SO
for sodium)
Advantages:
- Very efficient lamp
- Powerful lamp for use of large areas
- Despite a warm up time of 5-10 minutes it restarts immediately if
there is a brownout
- Lumen output does not drop with age (such as in LEDs or

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incandescent)

Disadvantages:
- Worst color rendering of any lamp
- Sodium is a hazardous material which can combust when exposed to
air (such as if the bulb is broken in the trash)
3. ELECTRODELESS LAMP
- is a gas discharge lamp in which an electric or magnetic field transfers the
power required to generate light from outside the lamp envelope to the gas
inside. This is in contrast to a typical gas discharge lamp that uses
internal electrodes connected to the power supply by conductors that pass
through the lamp envelope.
- Eliminating the internal electrodes provides two advantages:
a. Extended lamp life (internal electrodes are the most limiting factor in
lamp life)
b. Ability to use higher-efficiency light-generating substances that would
react with internal metal electrodes in conventional fluorescent
lamps
-do not require wiring connections between the lamp and its ballast or
driver. As most wear and tear on lamps occurs at the electrode, its
absence in this technology can significantly extend lamp life.
Types of electrodeless lamp
a. ELECTROMAGNETIC- commonly known as induction lamps, are
electrodeless fluorescent lamps using ballasts that emit radio waves
guided into an electromagnetic field, which converts mercury vapor
in the lamp into a plasma state. This results in the emission of
ultraviolet light, which is converted into white light using phosphors,
with the light emission exiting the lamp from the surface of the bulb
(linear source)
MICROWAVE- Uses microwave to a glass filled with sulfur gas.
-Microwave bulbs, more commonly known as electrodeless lamps, are a
unique type of medium pressure mercury vapor lamp. In this design, the
mercury contained in the quartz sleeve is vaporized by irradiating the lamp
with microwave energy rather than passing current between the electrodes.
This offers several distinct advantages over the standard UV electrode lamp:
a. Instant on/off capability
b. Smaller lamp design
c. Much longer lamp life (generally 3 to 5 times a standard electrode lamp)
d. Higher efficiency light output

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e. Higher intensity light at working surface

4. ELECTROLUMISCENT LAMPS
- use electric current directly through a phosphor to make light. Unlike most
lamps, they can be shaped to be extremely flat, or in narrow wire-like
shapes.
Electroluminescence or "EL" is the non-thermal conversion of electrical
energy into light energy. This phenomenon is used in EL lamps, LEDs, and
OLEDs. In this page we talk about EL devices which create light by exciting
high energy electrons in phosphor materials like ZnS:Mn. This type of device
uses "high field electroluminescence".
Common uses: nightlights, decorative luminescent clothing, watch
illumination, flat wall decorative illumination, durable waterproof displays,
medical tool display screens, and most recently computer monitors and
billboards
Classic TV sets use electroluminescence. CRTs (Cathode Ray Tubes)
have an electroluminescent coating made of rare earth oxides and
oxysulfides. These materials glow when struck by electrons fired from a
cathode in the back of the tube.
Advantages:
-Low wattage
-Long life
-No external circuitry required (no ballast needed to limit current, it can be
plugged directly into AC power and will self-regulate power through it's own
resistivity)
-Can be manufactured into flat flexible panels, narrow strings, and other
small shapes
-Can be made into waterproof computer monitors which are more durable
and light weight than LCDs or Plasma screens.
-Not directional like LCDs when used as a computer monitor, looks good at
all angles
-EL displays can handle an impressive -60 C to 95 C temperature range,
which LCD monitors cannot do
Disadvantages:
-Not practical for general lighting of large areas due to low lumen output of
phosphors (so far)
-Poor lumens per watt rating, however typically the lamp is not used for
high lumen output anyway
-Reduced lumen output over time, although newer technologies are better
than older phosphors on this point
-Flexible flat EL sheets wear out as they get flexed, durability is being
worked on
-The lamps can use significant amount of electricity: 60-600 volts

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-Typical EL Needs a converter when used with DC sources such as on

watches (to create higher frequency AC power, this is audible)

LEARNING ACTIVITY

TRUE OR FALSE. Write true if the statement is correct and false if not.

____________1. Light produces the stimulus which allows recognition, organization and
evaluation of visual information perceived within an environment.
____________2. When electric current is introduced through a gas or solid which is
composed of single valence electron, it causes the valence electrons to temporarily rise to
a higher level of energy.
____________3. Incandescent Lamp is considered as a good choice for energy
conservation because it produces poor and low-level lighting.
____________4. Fluorescent lamp has shorter life span compared with the incandescent
lamp.
____________5. When a composite light such as white falls on a surface other than
black or white, selective absorption occurs.
____________6. When light falls upon as opaque material, it is refracted.
____________7. When light falls upon a transparent material, it is transmitted through
it, refracted (bent) as it enters the material, but emerges at the same angle that it
entered.
____________8 When the refracted light rays are distributed in all directions with
maximum intensity normal to the surface.
____________9. HID lamps do not require a ballast in order to generate the initial surge
of electricity needed to start them and to regulate their power during normal operation.
____________10. The light power in a given direction is defined as the luminous flux per
unit solid angle or a luminous flux on a surface normal to that direction.

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