Jan 22, 2008

New Lighting Technology Saves Energy

The growing interest in energy conservation, global warming and "green" environmentalism efforts has made many of us take a look at new technologies. What you might not realize is that you can save energy by using High Intensity Discharge (HID) lights rather than conventional incandescent bulbs. Due in large part to ultra bright headlights made popular by BMW, Mercedes-Benz and other luxury automobiles, many consumers are learning about the unmatched power of HID lights. In both automotive use as headlights and in a flashlight stored in a car's glove box, HID lights dwarf incandescent bulbs in light output, and they consume less than 50 percent of the energy of the common light bulb.

HID lights have other advantages as well. Compared to Thomas Edison's creation, they put out far less heat, and HID lights often last several thousand more hours than comparable halogen lights. This dramatically reduces waste and the so-called "landfill impact," since most HID lights last decades. On the other hand, most halogen lights are treated as consumable items and are discarded and replaced every few months.

"On [the] Magnalight [website] we are really seeing our sales of HID spotlights, flood lights and flashlights skyrocket," said Rob Bresnahan, president of Larson Electronics. "Businesses, utility companies, soldiers and outdoorsmen seek out our Magnalight HID lights because they realize the total cost of ownership is much lower than incandescent halogen lights."