9 reasons to replace metal halide lamps with LED floodlights

In 2022, many people still believe that LED lamps cannot replace traditional metal halides. This is true when LED technology is still in the early stages of development, but the situation has changed. As the technology of LED lights continues to mature, it is now a perfect replacement for traditional lamps.

Prior to LEDs, industrial lighting used metal halide lamps as lighting equipment. It provides a higher level of illumination and is more color rendering than other sources. This is why it was considered the most suitable lighting fixture at the time. But when LED lighting comes with its unique performance, energy-saving, efficient, pollution-free cold-source LED lighting, the replacement of metal halides with LED lights will become a trend. Nowadays, the use of LED lighting is becoming wider and wider, and the technology becomes better and more stable. Converting traditional luminaires into LED luminaires has become a project of many engineering considerations. In the past few years, it has been continuously seen that regional lighting has been completely replaced for LED luminaires. LED technology is finally very mature and is now the first choice for most contractors, facility managers and commercial owners.

Here we take LED floodlights as an example. LED floodlights are bright white light sources that emit light at very wide angles. LED floodlights are used in many areas, such as warehouses, homes, theaters, playgrounds and stadiums. These lamps have several advantages, especially when compared to standard incandescent, HPS or metal halide lamps.

The following are eight reasons to replace metal halides with LED lamps.

1. LED floodlights are more efficient

Metal halides are high intensity discharge lamps and all HID lamps are omnidirectional. These lights distribute light in all directions. Therefore, in order for the luminaire to be able to illuminate vertically and horizontally, a reflector is typically added to the metal halide luminaire to concentrate the light and direct it where it is needed, up to 30% of the lumen loss during the reflection process. This will waste a lot of light sources.

The structure of the LED lamp is different, producing directional light. All the light is focused on where it is needed. There is no lumen to be reflected and therefore no reflector is needed, which means that no light source is wasted.

Although LEDs also have lumens depreciation, their lumen depreciation rates are not as fast as traditional fixtures.

The 400 watt metal halide bulb has a color temperature of 4000K and a rated life of 15,000 hours. Although these numbers are impressive, the 200W LED floodlights achieve the same effect and 150Lm/W efficiency.

2. LED floodlights longevity

Metal halide lamps have an average life of 15,000 to 20,000 hours. The life span is short and the light decay is faster. Although metal halide bulbs initially have very high light output, it is common for metal halides to lose 20% of lumens during the first six months of use due to the very low lumen degradation of metal halide bulbs. When the bulb reaches half of its life, the lumen depreciation rate may reach 50%. And LEDs can maintain 70% lumens throughout their lifetime. And over 50,000 hours of life. Since metal halide lamps have a rated life of 15,000 to 20,000 hours, you may have replaced metal halide lamps 2-3 times when high quality LEDs reach their end of life.

3. Save more energy consumption

If you use our LED floodlights you will reduce energy consumption by 60-70% and provide better lighting in the space. 100W floodlights can achieve 160Lm/W efficiency.

It can directly replace 200-250W metal halide lamps, and each 100W LED floodlight will emit 160,000 lumens, which is a perfect substitute for metal halides. Another issue to be aware of is that as metal halides lose most of their lumens, their power consumption does not decrease. In fact, they consume the same amount of electricity as they originally consumed until the end of their life.

4. Reduce heat emissions

One of the main problems with standard light bulbs is the conversion of large amounts of energy into heat. Then waste this heat as it dissipates in the surrounding air. LED floodlights do not dissipate heat, and because they do not cause an increase in temperature, these lamps are ideal for use in refrigerated warehouses.

5. High security

LED floodlights are one of the safest lighting options. One reason is that there is no heat dissipation, which reduces the risk of electrical and fire accidents.

6. Better light quality

Visible light is light that can be seen by the human eye, and LED floodlights have no (IR) and ultraviolet (UV) light. Because this light is useless to humans. LEDs have higher quality light because they have a higher color rendering index. When you install a light source with a higher color rendering index, it means you will only need fewer fixtures. Although the color rendering index of metal halides is much better than that of other conventional lamps (such as high pressure sodium lamps), they are not as authentic as LEDs.

7. Produce bright white light

The white light produced by the LED floodlight is similar to daylight. This makes it very easy to view and retrieve items. When used in a stadium, it makes the audience feel like it is daylight. And not affected by weather and temperature changes.

8. They reduce maintenance costs

Another way LEDs can help you save money is to reduce maintenance costs. As we said before, metal halide lamps have a long life and very fast lumens. They must be replaced from time to time. When used in large commercial applications, they must be replaced in groups because replacing a single bulb can be very expensive.

The higher the fixture is installed, the higher the replacement cost. If your regional application is full of lights, you may spend a lot of money each year to replace burnt out fixtures. Because LEDs have a long life, you don't have to spend money on new fixtures or pay the electrician to replace damaged fixtures. If you have an internal electrician, they won't spend a lot of time repairing or replacing the bulb.

9. Rebate

LED products with DLC certification. DLC, the DesignLights Consortium, is a non-profit organization dedicated to increasing the use of high-performance commercial lighting solutions. DLC certification is a symbol of performance and efficiency, equivalent to the Energy Star of commercial lighting products. The rebates from utility companies help reduce initial purchase costs and help you recover your investment in a short period of time. No utility company offers discounts for metal halide lamps.

We have explained why LEDs are much better than metal halides, and we are sure that you are considering replacing traditional luminaires with LED luminaires. However, you still have a decision: Do you want to install new LED fixtures or retrofit your existing fixtures. The choices you make will ultimately determine your spending.

New LED luminaires are more expensive than retrofit units and may take time to install in your property. If your existing luminaire is in good condition, we recommend that you make the modification as it will not affect your business operations and the process will take only a short time.

What if you want to get a glimpse of the difference between metal halide lighting and LED lighting? How much energy can LEDs save you? How long can you recoup your investment after switching to LED lighting?

We have a calculation page on the lampshining website for reference, if you are interested you can click to convert. ROI Calculator

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