Car headlights and Halogens

[Shiftaltumlock]

Has anyone seen those bluish colored headlights lately(I think they are Halogen). I realize that these guys are inefficient. They expend alot of energy as heat. Does anyone have any data on Color temperature, CRI and spectrum for this type of lamp? This seem like a natural suplement to a yellowish HPS unit.


BTW: I have the HPS laying around here somewhere, I was just looking for a cheap suplement for blue. The HPS is a 150 watt.

The lighting solution would be suspended on a pendant, 2' above a 24X24X24 cube.

[Fishiebusiness]

You mean the nice crisp ones on the Lexus and BMW's and such? Those are HID, metal halides. Many people use metal halides to grow plants, and even more for reefs.

[Huyzel]

I think he means the FAKE HID bulbs that fit regular headlights.
the ones all the civics etc have...
i have a set in my car. :)
real HID = expensive
blue bulbs = cheap

[Raithan Ellis]

Yes, there are some bulbs that merely have the encasing glass blown with a blue hue. However, many of even the cheap Xenon bulb setups do work, reason being, when electrons are excited in an enviroment with Xenon, they almost double the energy they are able to expel, thus increasing light.

However, tests show that even the expensive PIAA hyperwhites, ect... are still less beneficial in real world results than most stock bulbs.

Then there are the people who have truely upgraded to HID bulbs, which requires other components to start them. If you ever get a chance to see true HIDs start, they fire up in a bright flash and then dim back down to their running levels. Still, to fully take advantage of the HIDs, you'd need a properly designed light housing.

Cheers,
Raithan O. Ellis

[gcvt]

Originally posted by Raithan Ellis
Then there are the people who have truely upgraded to HID bulbs, which requires other components to start them. If you ever get a chance to see true HIDs start, they fire up in a bright flash and then dim back down to their running levels. Still, to fully take advantage of the HIDs, you'd need a properly designed light housing.

A buddy of mine has a HID setup (Photo) (https://www.bajadesigns.com/images/dualhid01.jpg) on his desert racing bike and it's simply amazing. We swapped bikes on a short night ride and I couldn't believe the difference...enormously expensive but apparently worth every penny. :D

[Fishiebusiness]

I think its still about 500 for a good HID retro kit. The bad part is, they're only 36 watts. Imagine the HID metal halide power you can get on your tank for that much $$$.

[latazyo]

$500????


that's a pretty good deal....

[Shiftaltumlock]

Thanks for the replies all. I was thinking these units where Halogen. So much for a cheapo fix. For the kinda money you guys are talking about, I might as well just do the 250 watt MH pendant I was looking at.

I think that would be good suspended above a 24X24X24.

[plantbrain]

2 to 4 65 watt Homer Depot PC lights would do it for about 125$.

But I'd still get a MH light. They would run ready to go for 200$ for a 175w which is plenty for a 24" cube.

You can build one yourself for about 75-100$.

Regards.
Tom Barr