HID Search Lights
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What is HID and what can it do for me?
High Intensity Discharge (HID) lighting technology replaces the filament of the light bulb with a capsule of gas. The light is emitted from an arc discharge between two closely spaced electrodes hermetically sealed inside a small quartz glass tubular envelope capsule. To operate, they require ballasts, which supply proper voltage and control current. The amount of light produced is greater than a standard halogen bulb, while consuming less power, and more closely approximating the color temperature of natural daylight.
In all High Intensity Discharge lamps, light is produced by passing a current through a metal vapor. Free electrons colliding with an atom in the vapor momentarily knock an electron into a higher orbit of the atom. When the displaced electron falls back to its former level, a quantum of radiation is emitted. The wavelength of radiation depends on the energy zone of the disturbed electron and on the type of metal vapor used in the arc tube.
Although it produces 5% of its output when first ignited, the HID light requires a few seconds (usually 15-20) to come up to full output. Also, if power to the lamp is lost or turned off, the arc tube must cool to a given temperature before the arc can be re-struck and light produced. As technology evolves, manufacturers are producing lights with "instant strike," meaning the initial output of light is much higher than 5%. This results in an HID light that is capable of being used in a Tactical Situation where instantaneous light is required.
HID lighting has several advantages over conventional halogen primary lights:
More light output. An 18W HID light source produces approximately the same lumens at the light source as a 55 Watt halogen bulb at three to five times the halogen's efficiency.
Whiter light. The color temperature of HID lighting more closely approximates the color temperature of natural daylight than does a halogen system, which appears yellowish in comparison. The term "color temperature" indicates that the light appears as if the discharge lamp is operating at a given color temperature-- traditional measurements of color temperature are drawn from the properties of the metal used in the bulb's filament. Typical color temperatures are 2800K (incandescent), 3000K (halogen), 4100K (cool white or SP41 fluorescent), and 5000K (daylight-simulating fluorescent colors). Most HID lights produce a light with a color temperature approaching or above 5000K. A white light has a perceived brightness which may equate to the higher stated efficacies-- ie., although an HID lamp might have equivalent lumens as a higher wattage halogen bulb, the HID will appear brighter and more pleasing to the eye than the output of a halogen lamp.
Longer Service Life. An HID lamp will last, on the average, 3 to 5 times as long as a halogen bulb. In normal use, an HID bulb should last beyond one thousand ignitions.
In a nut shell, if your mission calls for an intensely bright light in a portable package, HID may be a choice for you to consider.
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Portable High Intensity Discharge HID search lights provide incredible amounts of brilliant white light where you need it. Approaching the color of day light, HID search lights are the way to go if you need a small powerful light.
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