Main Product: Lamp Ballasts

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HP Sodium


Advantages:
Sodium light-sources are the most powerful of all practical light-sources. The light is a bronze or tawny color. The spectral output compliments the silicon sensitivity for demanding Machine Vision applications.

Sodium light-sources are very rugged and have a very long service life. It retains its spectral output over a wide range of power levels and can be operated in any position without compromising arc stability, unlike some other H.I.D. / High Intensity Discharge lamps - Metal Halide in particular.


Sodium Usefulness
Sodium light-sources are available in a variety of glass envelope packages which can be readily used in compact installations.


Special Consideration: Thermal Runaway
Sodium light-sources have two idiosyncrasies that need to be recognized. First, it has a tendency toward thermal runaway...If the current remains fixed and the arc tube is allowed to heat up, the arc voltage will climb, increasing the lamp output wattage.


The MERCRON Advantage
MERCRON Sodium Lamp Controllers limit the maximum wattage with both optical feedback and electronic wattage limiters, so that the runaway is curbed.


Special Consideration: Thermal Hysteresis
Sodium light-sources also have a strong thermal hysteresis. This means that its efficacy is tied to the arc-tube temperature and the temperature is not quickly changed. Lamp brightness can be lowered quickly, but the arc tube must heat up before the lamp output can be increased.


For this reason, Sodium light-sources cannot ordinarily be idled between duty cycles, unless 30-seconds or more is available for the heating cycle to return to a brighter working condition. In other words, depending upon how long the lamps have been idling, it takes anywhere from 20-to-60 seconds to bring them back up to the desired intensity level.

It is significant then that - if idling at a low output is desirable, MERCRON Sodium Lamp Controllers can idle the lamp indefinitely without damaging the lamp.