What advantages are there for induction lights v. metal halides?
The simplest answer is that induction lighting lasts a REALLY LONG TIME. This makes it perfect for areas that are safety hazards should they become dark (such as tunnels-as mentioned above) or simply an area that is terribly difficult to reach – like the lighting at the top of an escalator.
Because of the current pricing structure on induction lighting, it remains an option primarily for the commercial marketplace, and we see it used frequently in areas that would require a lift in order to change the bulb, yet, where the ceiling sits above a staircase – necessitating scaffolding + a lift – a costly proposition to change a lightbulb — making induction lighting reasonable by comparison!
The biggest advantage that induction lighting has over metal halides is the ability to instantly start and shut off. The reason is because we see the fastest growing replacement of metal halides to induction in areas like tunnel and street lighting. Why? Because a driver driving at 55mph cannot afford to be inside a pitch dark tunnel for more than 2 minutes waiting for the metal halides to restart! Many tunnel lighting fixtures have an emergency direct current backup where the light will run on batteries until the electrical power is back up. Metal halides, once turned off in an outage require a cooling off period for the gases to return to a solid state before it can restart itself. A solution to this problem is to install fluorescent lamps such as T5s or CFL lamps, as emergency lamps that will light up immediately. But that in turn increases the installation of fixtures and lights, as well as periodically testing these back up lamps to see if they are still functional. Not to mention
