Why Choose High Mast Led Flood Light not HID Light?
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Update time : 2019-01-07 12:46:21
A high power flood light is generally a weatherproof lighting system designed to illuminate a scene or object to a luminance considerably greater than its surroundings. The high-luminance luminaire offers an intense light output with a beam pattern that can be easily varied and controlled for illumination of a selected area or object to ensure safety and visual comfort. Floodlights can be categorized into two broad types, i.e., area and directional, as a result of controlling the distribution and intensity of the beam to facilitate shaping of the luminaire output. Area floodlights are used in lighting applications that require luminous intensity distributions to illuminate large open areas such as parking lots lighting, outdoor stadiums lighting, indoor arenas lighting, and warehouses lighting. Directional floodlights are used to visually highlight a particular architectural or structural feature for architectural wall washing and facade lighting.Currently,normally we take two type lights to do these outdoor lighting projects.One is the High Mast Led Flood Light,another is the HID Light. Which one is the best choice? Below,let's guide you about it.
HID Light
HID Light (metal halide / high pressure sodium) has been the primary light source for outdoor lighting applications until recently. HID lights are powerful, high-volume light output lamps. They are mostly used in commercial and industrial lighting applications, such as automotive headlights, outdoor security lights, parking garage lights, roadway lights, sports lights, or warehouse lights.
HIDs produce light by means of an electric arc that flows between two electrodes inside a clear quartz arc tube, which is filled with gas and metal salts. HID lamps emit more light per watt than either fluorescent or incandescent lamps because this method of illumination allows a greater proportion of radiation to become visible light rather than heat. Like compact fluorescents, HIDs require a ballast to regulate the voltage supplied to the arc.
Depending on the desired characteristics of light intensity, color temperature, color rendering index (CRI), energy efficiency, and lifespan, various types of chemistry are used in the HID light.Varieties of HID lamps include:
Metal Halide (MH) light emit very bright white light and can be used either indoors or outdoors. They are typically used in applications where color rendering is critical, such as indoor or nighttime sports game lights and automotive headlamps.
Pulse Start (Metal Halide)
Pulse Start MH light operate on ballasts that use new and efficient Pulse Start technology. Pulse Start technology improves the lamp life and energy-efficiency of MH lights, making these lamps a highly desirable HID option.
High Pressure Sodium
High Pressure Sodium (HPS) lights are typically used in street lamps. HPS bulbs are more energy-efficient than other HIDs; however, they have a low color rendition and emit yellow light. They are typically used in places where color perception is not critical to save money on energy costs.
Low Pressure Sodium
Low Pressure Sodium (LPS) lights are mostly used in Europe for outdoor street lighting. LPS bulbs have the lowest color rendition of all HIDs, emitting monochromatic yellow-orange light. However, they are the most energy-efficient HIDs, making them ideal in places where color rendering is not critical.
Mercury Vapor
Mercury Vapor (MV) lights offer a clear white light output and long bulb lifetimes. They are often used for large area overhead lighting, such as in factories, warehouses, and sports arenas, as well as in streetlights. MV lamps are gradually becoming obsolete due to the higher efficiency and better color balance of MH lamps.
Induction Lamps
Induction Lamps are ideal replacements for outlawed MV lamps in outdoor fixtures. Self-ballasted and energy-efficient, these lamps offer bright white light with a high CRI.
High mast Led flood light fixture generally consists of a housing and electrical (driver) compartment typically made from low copper die cast aluminum. The heavy duty aluminum flood housing is designed to accommodate all electrical and optical components. A metal core printed circuit board (MCPCB) provides the thermal connection between heat sink and LED package, electrical insulation and the transfer of electricity into the LEDs. A lens frame fixes a clear or prismatic lens made of tempered glass or impact resistant polycarbonate. The frame is then mechanically sealed with a silicone gasket for weather tight operation. One challenge in designing high power LED lighting fixtures is that the high power LEDs emit a high amount of heat. Hence, it may be advantageous to remove the heat generated by the LED from the LED semiconductor junction and maintain the internal temperature of the luminaire assembly below the maximum operating temperature so the electrical and electronic components therein maintain peak performance. Thermal management, therefore, has become increasingly important in high power LED lighting. LED floodlights feature cast aluminum heat sink behind the LED assembly to control heat buildup and dissipate heat. Heat sinks are thermal conduction pathways that is integrated into a lighting system to remove or redistribute thermal energy from LEDs through thermal conduction with these heat sources. The aerodynamic vents created by the heat sink fins generate efficient air flow and accelerate natural convection. Hot air converges smoothly into a fast laminar flow, quickly transferring heat to the ambient environment. Other thermal management strategies have utilized heat pipes that combines the principles of both thermal conductivity and phase transition heat transfer mechanism. The complete separation of the electrical compartment from the LED assembly keeps the driver and other control circuitry very cool, effectively maintaining the driver's service life in high ambient operating temperatures. The housing is pre-treated and powder-coated to resists extreme weather conditions without cracking or peeling and provide optimal color and gloss retention. The floodlight design is increasingly incorporating more aesthetic elements. The attractively styled contemporary design with smooth curves and contoured edges blend unobtrusively with the environment.
Beam Patterns
High mast led flood light design challenges every floodlight fixture designer to satisfy the demands of the client and meet the parameters of different optical solutions. The primary optic is included in the LED package, and the secondary optics are part of the floodlight fixture and are designed to shape the radiation pattern, or beam pattern, maximize efficiency and application spacing. Secondary optics provide unique optical combination possibilities to modify the LED output beam such that the output beam of the floodlights efficiently meets the desired photometric specification. LED secondary optics include reflectors, lenses, total internal reflection (TIR) lenses, and diffusers. Lens has the excellent light-gathering ability to control the distribution of light rays at a small angle. While the reflector has the advantage to redirecting the flux (illuminance) and converging the rays at a large angle. A TIR lens is a combination of lens and reflector, using the principle of total reflection optics to collect and process light. For high voltage applications it is recommended to use PMMA (acrylic) or PC (polycarbonate) lens for their high mechanical strength, excellent optical properties, good thermal stability, high thermal conductivity, and low moisture and water absorbing capacity. In high power floodlighting, lenses and TIR lenses are often used for better uniformity and higher optical efficiency (at least 90% for most applications). It makes sense, however, to use a reflector design in some applications, e.g. sports lighting, to achieve a designed beam pattern and minimize spill light and glare.
NEMA Beam Spread Classifications
Beam Spread Degrees
NEMA Type
Beam Description
10°- 18°
1
Very narrow
18°- 29°
2
Narrow
29°- 46°
3
Medium narrow
46°- 70°
4
Medium
70°- 100°
5
Medium wide
100°- 130°
6
Wide
130° and up
7
Very wide
Led Flood Light optics are available in different light distributions (asymmetric, symmetric and antisymmetric) with different beam spreads to suit floodlighting, spotlighting, roadway and area lighting applications.
Spot - The spot distribution can be applied to installations where precise illumination and light control is required for small, confined space over long distances. Typical applications include accent lighting, tall facades, column grazing and flag poles.
Narrow - The narrow beam provides a concentrated distribution for applications where a tight symmetrical distribution is high desired. It is typically used for accenting landscape, monuments, storefronts and building facades.
Medium: The medium floods are designed for high intensity floodlighting or area lighting applications that require a wider uniform pattern in a designated coverage.
Wide - The wide beam floodlighting is designed for general floodlighting applications where broad, even illumination is required over a large area. Typical applications include pole mounted large area lighting and ground mounted, sign and facade lighting.
Horizontal - The horizontal flood projects a wide horizontal beam with a narrow vertical concentration. This distribution pattern is ideal for applications that require a vertical cutoff.
Vertical - The vertical flood beam spread is ideal for applications requiring a horizontal cutoff but vertically deep distribution.
Industrial and outdoor lighting applications that require high intensity illumination had previously been served by fixtures using what are known as high-intensity discharge (HID) lamps that include, but are not limited to, metal halide (MH), mercury vapor (HgV), high pressure sodium (HPS), and low pressure sodium (LPS). While high wattage (e.g., 1000 watt or more) HID floodlights produce a significant amount of light, their inherent disadvantages limit their application to outdoor lighting. HPS lamps, for example, have a larger light spectrum but lower efficiency (amount of light delivered vs. amount of light produced) and poorer depiction than other light sources. The metal halide lamp, though used widely used in sports and other wide-area lighting applications, suffers from several disadvantages. HID lamps require a long warm-up/start-up time of several minutes before providing usable light. A metal halide lamp produces light by passing a quartz or ceramic arc tube through a gaseous mixture of vaporized mercury and metal halides. A cold metal halide lamp cannot immediately generate its full light capacity and requires approximately 5 minutes before the electric arc between the electrodes emits visible light to full brightness. Hot restrike is of greater concern than long initial startup. It may can take up to 20 minutes to restrike the arc if the power is interrupted because the high pressure inside the arc tube may reach 440 psi (30 bar) which will prevent re-striking the arc. In addition to having a limited life span of approximately 3,000 hours for high wattage applications and poor lumen maintenance, metal halide lamps contain a significant amount of mercury and are prone to risk of explosion.
High Mast Led Flood Light advantages
1.Energy savings up to 80%
With advancements in LED high mast Light technology and higher lumens per watts configurations now available, reducing energy consumption by over 80% is not unreasonable.Fanguang Lighting,China professional led lighting manufacturer,products up to 140~150lm/w. Coupled with controls like day light sensors and motion sensors, achieving reductions in excess of 80% is achievable. However, it is important to note that you need to pay attention to a few details.
2.Low Maintenance Costs
In addition to unnecessarily high energy bills, maintenance expenses can also become a “less visible” cost plaguing operational budgets. High mast lighting, parking lot lighting, recreational sports lighting often require the use of a bucket truck or lift to change out a lamp or a Ballast. As stated earlier, these lights are almost always on poles in excess of 15ft high.
Many buildings and facilities do not own a bucket truck or lift, and as a result have to hire an outside contractor to maintain these fixtures. These maintenance expenses can really add up over the course of a few years. For example, it can cost up to $1,200 in labor and materials to maintain a single parking or sport light fixture over the course of 3 years.
3.Good Lighting Performance
The most critical component of your outdoor lighting projects is the performance. Depending on the type of HID lamp your facility utilizes, the performance characteristics of your outdoor lighting can vary significantly.
For example, if you are using metal halide lamps you may see light that is “Whiter”, but these types of lamps tend to have accelerated lumen degradation, meaning the light output of the lamps decrease quickly after initial install, and as a result the overall lifetime of the lamp decreases. If you are using High Pressure Sodium you may see longer “useful” life as these lamps see less lumen degradation than metal halide, but their fuel structure produces a very “Orange” light with a very low Color Rendering Index. Basically, you trade a longer life for a poorer quality light, in regards to visual perspective.
Conclusion
Having high performing High Mast Led Flood Light is critical for a business owners and facilities managers alike. However, as we can see, traditional HID light like metal halide and high pressure sodium lamps have maintenance issues, high energy costs, and overall less than optimal light output. All this is in addition to the potential lamp lifetime concerns.
However, these issues can be mitigated with an High Mast Led Flood Light. If you would like to learn more about these options, contact Fanguang Lighting today, we would be happy to give you a free no obligation assessment. We look forward to hearing from you.
