The original of the three HID categories operates by using a small amount of liquid mercury sealed in a quartz tube with argon gas. The arc created by the mercury vapor lamp produces both visible and invisible (UV) light. The visible light is blue-white in color and is best suited for outdoor lighting applications because of its poor color rendering capabilities. Some mercury vapor lamps incorporate phosphors similar to those used in fluorescent lamps to improve color to a certain degree. Mercury vapor lamps can achieve life spans of 10,000 to 24,000 hours. Typical applications: Street lighting, industrial hi-bay, parking lots, building flood lighting, general flood lighting, places where long life is required and color rendering is not critical.

Mercury Vapor Light