Induction Lighting and Reefkeeping

[zachtos]

Induction Lighting

Has anyone ever tried induction lighting instead of metal halide in reefkeeping before? I am starting to install these in parking lots and parking ramps for customers.

-available in 6500K
-cost about $400 for a fixture
-not a point source (no shimmer, better light spread)
-half life of 100,000 hours
-near instant turn on (occupancy sensor friendly)
-lower wattage then MH / lumen

You would obviously need to supplement these lights w/ 20K T5 bulbs, but for energy efficiency, these could be fantastic.

I will be going to another Demo meeting next tuesday and will have a chance to get an up close PAR reading and thermal reading for you to give a reference. (hard to give you a PAR reading when they are 20' up on a pole).

These seem like they would atleast be a better option for Reefkeeping farms where the color is not a big concern, but spread and longevity is important!

I found nothing in the search on this so maybe this has never been discussed her before.

induction lighting styles

 

[zachtos]

I went to the induction lighting demo today.

I took PAR readings of 500 from 6 inches. Now, this was only a 100W bulb that covered about the same area as a metal halide. It was a 5000K bulb and did not have a reflector optimized for our hobby. It was a streetlighting reflector that spreads it horizontally. I spoke with the vendor, and he said they can probably get them in 10,000K and maybe even 20,000K (they simply send the bulbs to get gas phosphur filled differently).

Cost is around $400 for a 200W fixutre which would cover a huge area of 4'x4' likely. They have a 400W bulb which is similar in shape to a traditional power compact 65W that I really would love to get a reading on. If we installed something like that with a nicer reflector, we could likely get very good par.

These bulbs are dimmable, last for 100,000 hours, turn on instantly, and run at only 200F on the bulb surface (similar to T5 temperature).

Think of these as a power compact bulb, that do not have electrodes inside them, rather a magnetic coil around the bulb that induces current. The technology has advanced much recently and this is allowing for a great increase over your traditional flourescent tube. Are these are MH/T5 killers? Not unless you are trying to save energy. Which is why utilities like us will start using them in street lighting soon.

-zachtos