Sustainability ♦ Legislation & Regulations
Because legislation is subject to frequent change, talk to your Hagemeyer USA representative who will have the most current information available.
EISA (Energy Independence & Security Act of 2007)
The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA), originally named the CLEAN Energy Act of 2007, is an Act of Congress concerning the energy policy of the United States. Where conventional bulbs use a metal filament that glows hot to produce light, metal halide lights, a member of the high intensity discharge (HID) family of lamps, are a type of bulb that discharge electricity through a gas to produce an intense light that burns very white and very bright. The light produced in relation to their size makes them a compact, powerful, and efficient light source. They are the closest thing we have to artificial sunlight. Do not confuse these with halogen bulbs, which have a very yellow light.
Originally created in the late 1960s for industrial use, metal halide lamps are now available in numerous sizes and configurations for commercial and residential applications. Like most HID lamps, metal halide lamps operate under high pressure and temperature, and require special fixtures and ballasts to operate safely.
A new family of lamps is made by varying the gases inside the discharge bulb. Metal halide lamps have very good CRI (75 to 85) and are highly efficient in terms of lumens/watt. They are the standard choice for demanding lighting applications such as athletic fields, indoor arenas, landscape lighting, and recently, using low wattage varieties, a replacement for halogen lights and an ideal source for remote source applications.
Probe Start vs. Pulse Start Comparison
Metal halide lamps require electrical ballasts to regulate the arc current flow and deliver the proper voltage to the arc. Probe start metal halide bulbs contain a special ‘starting’ electrode within the lamp to initiate the arc when the lamp is first lit (which generates a slight flicker when the lamp is first turned on). Pulse start metal halide lamps do not require a starting electrode, and instead use a special starting circuit referred to as an ignitor to generate a high-voltage pulse to the operating electrodes.
| Probe Start |
EISA Compliant Pulse Start |
| Watts |
Mean
Lumens
|
Life |
Watts |
Watts |
Mean
Lumens |
Life |
Watts |
| 175 |
8,775 |
10,000 |
210 |
150 |
81,00 |
15,000 |
185 |
| 175 |
11,200 |
15,000 |
198 |
| 250 |
13,500 |
10,000 |
295 |
200 |
16,800 |
15,000 |
277 |
| 250 |
16,625 |
15,000 |
291 |
| 400 |
24,000 |
20,000 |
458 |
320 |
21,000 |
20,000 |
361 |
| 350 |
25,200 |
20,000 |
397 |
| 400 |
29,820 |
20,000 |
452 |
Effective immediately, metal halide 150w-500w fixtures are required to meet efficiency standard of 88% for pulse start and 94% for probe start. This will virtually eliminate the manufacture of probe start fixtures.
Energy Advantage of Pulse Start
Pulse start fixtures require less wattage to produce an equivalent amount of lumen output than probe start fixtures, eg. A 350W or 320W pulse start fixture can replace standard 400W probe start fixtures.
What Happens to Probe Start?
The law allows manufacturers and distributors to continue to sell probe start metal halide fixtures until inventories are depleted. Ballast and lamp suppliers will continue to build components for replacement business.
Exceptions
One EISA exception is significant-- the 150W wet location fixtures (as rated per NEC 2002, section 410.4(A)). 175W wet location rated fixtures will be replaced by 150W (already pulse start technology) due to the energy savings
E-mail gogreen@hagemeyerna.com for more information.