# Safe to use HID at home?



## forexer (Apr 18, 2010)

Hey,

Is it safe to use a HID bulb for lighting at home. I plan to fit a ballast with a 75 or 175w Metal Halide bulb. The question is whether i should do this because there might be more UV waves that are emitted. Is it safe for exposure because i will be sitting in that room for hours a day, i don't want to die one day. Please advise. 


Forexer


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## brickbat (Apr 18, 2010)

forexer said:


> ... i don't want to die one day. Please advise....
> Forexer



Sadly, you will. (But not from UV from the HID lamp...)

Most any MH lamp I've seen is UV filtered. For in-home use, select a Ceramic Metal Halide lamp, like one of GE's CMH lamps. (Philips and Sylvania make similar lamps, too.) CMH lamps have the best color rendering of all MH lamps, and are available in 3000 and 4000K color temps. Find an electronic ballast on eBay. 70W is a pretty common size and might be a good choice, depending on how much light you want... 20W, 39W, 100W, and 150W are also available.

http://www.gelighting.com/na/busine...ources/literature_library/sell_sheets/hid.htm


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## SmurfTacular (Apr 18, 2010)

HID housing light? I thought I've seen it all

If I where to buy a new house, all the lights would be LED


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## forexer (Apr 19, 2010)

I want to hear more first before i get anything. Should i use a diffuser too? I dont want to be starting at the beautiful arc every time i turn towards the light. :duh2: I might have several bulbs including MH MV and SON, yep, SON included. People will think i'm crazy having a orange room! Anyone of you know or advice what the wattage should be? My room is about 250 sq feet, about 2.5 M high. 

Forexer


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## StarHalo (Apr 19, 2010)

HID isn't a practical option for indoor lighting; when first turned on, it's dim and has significantly shifted tint until it warms up, which in some instances can be a few minutes. The color rendering is usually poor and will mute colors notably. The ballast usually makes some sort of humming/whistling noise (which worsens over time). There's a phenomenal amount of heat that's not proportionate with the size of the bulb. Etc.

There are plenty of other light/bulb types you can experiment with that you'd be a lot happier with; some creative flashaholics will light a room using photography lighting, for example..


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## Kestrel (Apr 19, 2010)

SmurfTacular said:


> If I where to buy a new house, all the lights would be LED


LOL, do you know that you're putting out bait for LuxLuthor & jtr1962 here?


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## brickbat (Apr 19, 2010)

StarHalo said:


> The color rendering is usually poor and will mute colors notably.



Broad generalizations are not too helpful. The Philips CDM series of ceramic metal halide lamps have 90+ CRI and 3K or 4K color temp. Pretty good in my book...



> The ballast usually makes some sort of humming/whistling noise (which worsens over time).



Usually? None of the 11 lamps I use in my home or shop make an audible noise. (all are electronic, made by Aromat)



> There's a phenomenal amount of heat that's not proportionate with the size of the bulb. Etc.



Huh? CMH lamps are among the most efficient at about 100 l/W. They do not generate a phenomenal amount of heat.

You are right about warm-up time. That's an issue for most people.

Ceramic Metal Halide is the key - I'd stay away from conventional quartz MH, MV, and SON (High Pressure Sodium over here) for indoor use.

Note to moderator - This thread belongs in fixed lighting...


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## forexer (Apr 23, 2010)

Advisable to use 1000w or 2000w MH or MV bulbs without diffusing or reflector? The ballast would be quite big though.


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## brickbat (Apr 24, 2010)

Yeah, 1000W MH or MV would be about right for a smallish interior space, like a bathroom or closet. Larger rooms usually need multiple 2000W lamps


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## StarHalo (Apr 24, 2010)

brickbat said:


> Yeah, 1000W MH or MV would be about right for a smallish interior space, like a bathroom or closet. Larger rooms usually need multiple 2000W lamps



Alternately, you could also use rows of stadium lighting in your closet; this would allow you to find clothing that looks best with a tan while simultaneously achieving the tan..


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## vio765 (Apr 25, 2010)

Is there an HID light bulb I can just screw into a typical table or floor light with no ballast, etc? Preferably less than 70W.


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## rayman (Apr 25, 2010)

You always need a ballast with a HID bulb.

rayman


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## brickbat (Apr 25, 2010)

^

Ahh, right...But...

There are self-ballasted CMH lamps. Philips and Sylvania make them. Only available in 24W rating afaik. 

http://www.lamptech.co.uk/Spec Sheets/Philips CDMRi25.htm

http://cgi.ebay.com/SYLVANIA-Metala...ultDomain_2&hash=item414d5a4955#ht_2210wt_846


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## forexer (Apr 26, 2010)

vio765 said:


> Is there an HID light bulb I can just screw into a typical table or floor light with no ballast, etc? Preferably less than 70W.


There's self-ballasted MV bulbs however the lowest is 160 watts about 3000lumen, very inefficient compared to ballasted ones. Philips and Osram sells them. highest i think would be 400w. They get freaking hot because of the bloody filament inside.


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## forexer (Apr 26, 2010)

brickbat said:


> Yeah, 1000W MH or MV would be about right for a smallish interior space, like a bathroom or closet. Larger rooms usually need multiple 2000W lamps


:devil: Too hot for me!


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## forexer (Apr 26, 2010)

StarHalo said:


> Alternately, you could also use rows of stadium lighting in your closet; this would allow you to find clothing that looks best with a tan while simultaneously achieving the tan..


Are most stadium lamps 2000w MH? Some use 400w i think. But the releftors in them suck. I'm thinking of making one of the mega lights with the 2kw MH but using a good reflector made by pros and i have to get others to make a 10kwh battery for me, maybe a generator?

Next time


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## StarHalo (Apr 27, 2010)

I installed a couple of the 2KW stadium units in my reading room; the tint could be better, but overall visibility is excellent. The room sends shafts of light down the street at night. At 4KWh, the room should cost about a grand a month to light, and I can't run the air conditioning at the same time or the circuit breaks, so this room is about 20 degrees warmer than the others.







And if you believe a word of this, you deserve to sit next to a stadium light in your living room..


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## garden (Apr 27, 2010)

HID lights will radiate heat, so if you stand under it for a while, you will feel the heat. It's not unsafe (incandescent bulbs create alot of UV as well), but probably not the best solution. Why not a bulk of 5x CREE MC-Es?


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## forexer (Apr 27, 2010)

garden said:


> HID lights will radiate heat, so if you stand under it for a while, you will feel the heat. It's not unsafe (incandescent bulbs create alot of UV as well), but probably not the best solution. Why not a bulk of 5x CREE MC-Es?


because i love hid more. Like to look at the arc and the electrodes.

Forexer


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## Apollo Cree (Apr 29, 2010)

garden said:


> incandescent bulbs create alot of UV as well


 No they don't. Only a tiny bit of UV, especially if it's not some special high intensity bulb. HID's tend to create a lot of UV, but they may be designed to filter it out.


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