Metal Halide and LED Tower Lights are two types of products available in the market today, with pros and cons weighting on each side.
In this article, we will be having an in-depth discussion about each lighting technology and the factors influencing the purchase decision.
Metal Halide Lamps
A Metal Halide lamp produces light by passing an electrical arc through a mixture of a compound between vaporized metals and halogens called Metal Halide.
They are known for delivering intense, high-quality light with minimum wattage consumption compared to incandescent lamps, a reason why they found success in many applications varying from vehicles to facilities like stadiums.
LED Lamps
A light emitting diode or LED lamp is an electrical device made from a semi-conductor that produces light by passing an electrical current through it.
LEDs can be found everywhere, they are robust, energy-efficient, and under continuous development, which means a further improvement in characteristics and a lowering in production costs.
Which Tower Light is better
Before deciding which technology is better, let us have a head-to-head comparison between the Metal Halide and LED Tower Light.
Color Temperature
Color temperature is a measure of the light appearance provided by the bulb. Both Metal Halide and LED lamps can emit high-quality cool white light.
Efficiency
The "Lumen" is the measurement of light emitted from a light bulb. The "Lux" is the measurement of light received in a given area.
For the same wattage input, the LED lamps provide more than 40% Lumens compared to Metal Halide lamps.
Moreover, LEDs are naturally directional, meaning that the received light or "Lux" is much higher compared to Metal Halides which tend to emit omnidirectional light, meaning higher losses and lesser efficiency.
Overall, the efficiency of an LED Tower Light is way higher than a Metal Halide Tower Light, which is why they have a much better fuel economy
Warm-up time
While LED lamps have virtually no warm-up time, Metal Halide lamps require 10-15 min to reach maximum luminosity.
Durability
LED lamps are more robust compared to Metal Halides lamps since they contain no filaments, which is a highly desirable characteristic in severe working conditions like construction sites.
Moreover, Metal Halide lamps need to cool down before moving the tower light, otherwise, they may get damaged which is further affecting the overall durability.
Cost
The up-front cost of a Metal Halide Tower Light is lower than an LED Tower Light, however, the operational and maintenance costs are much higher, and in the long run, LED Tower Lights are more economical to operate.
The one to choose
LED Tower lights are gaining popularity over time as technological progress and cheaper production costs are continuously reducing the purchase price. On the other hand, Metal Halide technology has reached its limit with no further room for development, and taking into consideration the lower operational and maintenance cost and the product's superior durability, LED Tower Lights are better in almost every aspect and are the one to choose, except if the retail price is the only decisive factor weighting in the purchase decision.