HID Replacement ?

[rwade0700]

A local electrician has a non-conventional way of dealing with HID lighting when ballast replacement is necessary. In particular he had a 250 watt HPS flood fixture that needed a ballast and lamp replacement. Instead of removing and replacing the components he just gutted the fixture, ran line voltage to the socket and installed a $25.00, 250 watt equivalent compact fluorescent lamp. This sounds like a quick and inexpensive way out ,but I wonder about lamp life in an enclosed fixture, possible temperature problems or how the light distribution patterns may be affected using this type of lamp VS the intended HID lamp matched to the photometrics of the luminaire?

 

[ohm]

A local electrician has a non-conventional way of dealing with HID lighting when ballast replacement is necessary. In particular he had a 250 watt HPS flood fixture that needed a ballast and lamp replacement. Instead of removing and replacing the components he just gutted the fixture, ran line voltage to the socket and installed a $25.00, 250 watt equivalent compact fluorescent lamp. This sounds like a quick and inexpensive way out ,but I wonder about lamp life in an enclosed fixture, possible temperature problems or how the light distribution patterns may be affected using this type of lamp VS the intended HID lamp matched to the photometrics of the luminaire?

Sounds like a good solution to me. A CFL will last a lot longer than a HID, won't put out even a fraction of the heat, will cost a fraction to run and will cost a fraction to fix.

I't probably won't put out the same light though.

Ok, it won't have UL approval either.

 

[peter d]

I would not want a piece of junk CFL in place of an HPS lamp that lasts 24,000 hours.

 

[LarryFine]

Northern Tools has an 85w CFL that is supposed to be equivalent to 350w incandescent. Look at the base to get an idea of how big it really is. I have also seen them with a mogul base for retrofitting HID's.

 

[480sparky]

How well will those CFLs work when it starts to get cold next autumn?

 

[ohm]

How well will those CFLs work when it starts to get cold next autumn?

Ordinary CFL's are being used in -40 deg freezers. If installed warm and kept burning they don't have any problems. If started cold they may take 5 min. to reach full brilliance.

 

[SiddMartin]

wonder if they are all 120v? Hardly ever work on site lights that have 120v to them to retro anyway. Mostly 480 / 277

 

[peter d]

If there was a truly reliable CFL that actually lasts as long as they say they last, then I would say this is a good solution. Until such time that they make a good CFL, then I'm sticking with the old way.