A Practical Evaluation of Replacing HID Lamps with Corn Cob LED Lights

 

About 20 years ago, the price of semiconductor materials that are used to make LEDs fell substantially, dropping the price of LEDs around the world.

Since that time, LEDs, which previously were cost-prohibitive to manufacture, buy and implement, have been widely adopted around the world as replacement and retrofit lighting. They have been used to replace incandescent, halogen, fluorescent, and of course, high-intensity discharge lamps.

By and large, the biggest benefit of LED lighting is in its energy efficiency. For many institutions, warehouses and manufacturing facilities, LEDs are the top choice simply because they are so much more energy efficient than alternatives.

For instance, many industrial settings use HID, or high-intensity discharge lamps, such as mercury vapor, metal halide lamps, and high and low pressure sodium lamps. These lamps, while they offer excellent light output and color temperature, produce a lot of heat and are not energy efficient - nowhere near as efficient, in fact, as LEDs.

Because of their potential drawbacks, many lighting manufacturers have produced LED replacements for HID lamps known as corn cob LED lights.

Also known as LED corn lights, LED corn cobs, and corn cob lights, corn cob LED lights are so called because they typically consist of a long metal frame along which LEDs are arranged in strips. This gives the LED lights themselves the appearance of kernels of corn on a cob.

Chiefly, the main benefit of these LED light bulbs is in energy efficiency - but just how energy efficient are corn cob LED lights?

How Much More Energy Efficient Are Corn Cob LED Lights Than HID Lamps?

Energy consumption, and associated costs, will be affected not only by the choice of lighting fixture and lightbulb, but also the age, nature, and condition of electrical infrastructure, as well as by frequency of usage and by electrical fuel source (fossil fuels, nuclear, hydroelectric, and so on and so forth).

Nonetheless, every reputable estimate suggests that corn cob LED lights are several times more energy efficient than their HID counterparts which they are designed to replace.

While estimates of comparative energy efficiency will vary, most suggest that corn cob LED lights are somewhere around 75% more efficient than HID lamps, and up to 90% more efficient than incandescent lights.

Some sources indicate that corn cob LED bulbs are as high as 80% more energy efficient than HID lamps like mercury vapor and metal halide (MH) lamps.

This advanced efficiency is a boon for site administrators and energy auditors because it means that facilities can save substantially on energy costs associated with lighting, especially in settings where the lights are left on most or all of the time.

Are There Other Benefits to Upgrading to Corn Cob LED Lights?

While the main benefit of corn cob LED lights is in their energy efficiency, there are numerous other potential advantages associated with replacing HID lamps with LEDs. These are some of the best of them.

• Potential utility rebates

Some LED lights may be eligible for certain rebates from some utilities companies that can contribute even further to energy savings. For instance, Light Efficient Design offers a rebate finder on their website which you can access via the following link.

• Saving even more on cooling costs

Another one of the significant advantages of LED lights is that they produce much less radiant heat than other forms of lighting. This is due in part to their higher luminous efficiency - more electrical energy is converted directly into light instead of being wasted as heat.

Some estimates suggest that LEDs produce 40% or less heat than comparable HID lamps - which is substantial when accounting for cooling costs, especially in large buildings in the summer months.

• Potentially lower maintenance costs associated with replacements

Most corn cob LED lights will last significantly longer than the HID lamps they are designed to replace, resulting in fewer maintenance costs replacing burned out lights.

• Corn cob LED lights last substantially longer

On the topic mentioned above, most corn cob LED lights will last around 50,000 hours, with many lasting even longer. Compare this to your average mercury vapor lamp, which will last about 25,000 hours, or a metal halide lamp, which on average will last about 5,000 to 15,000 hours.

• LED lights are more reliable in extreme temperatures (specifically in the cold)

HID lamps are notorious for their slow startup times, and in some cases can take 5 seconds or more to reach full brightness. This is even worse in colder weather. LEDs do not suffer this deficiency and reach their full brightness almost instantaneously.

• Many LED lights are shatter resistant

Whereas most HID lamps are made from glass, many corn cob LEDs are made with polymer, epoxy resin, and metal. These are much less prone to breaking than glass and are shatter resistant, too.

• Many corn cob LED lights are adjustable for wattage and color temperature

Some corn cob LED lights can be adjusted for both wattage and color temperature, allowing operators to customize their use to a given situation.

• Some are dimmable

In the early days of LEDs, dimmability was rarely an option. Today, there are a wide range of commercially available LED retrofit and replacement lights for fluorescents, HID lamps, and incandescent light bulbs and halogen lights that are fully dimmable.

• Some LED replacement lights can be installed in any configuration

Many HID lamps must be installed in a specific configuration in order to light and operate properly - either base up, down, or horizontally. Many LED corn cob lights can be mounted in any configuration and will work just fine.

• LEDs contain no toxic components and can often be recycled

Metal halide lamps, mercury vapor lamps, and high and low pressure sodium lamps contain heavy metals, salts, and mercury that are toxic. Consequently, these light bulbs must be carefully discarded and disposed of.

LED lights, which are typically made from semiconductor materials and epoxy resin, contain no such harmful ingredients. This means that often no special protocols or precautions must be followed when disposing of them and in fact, they can often be recycled.

Therefore, LED lights are more environmentally friendly in two ways - they consume less energy during use and they can often be recycled at end of their lifespans.

Questions About Choosing the Proper HID Replacements?

Not all corn cob LED lights are compatible universally with HID bulbs. For instance, the base type must be compatible and often a ballast bypass is required.

If you have any questions about LED compatibility or retrofitting, get in touch with us at 800-966-2345 and we will be glad to help.