is there a such thing as HID lights for the pool??

[Guest]

ok my new buick has Xenon headlights, their blue insted of a yellow halagon ( well more like a white light, but i think their blue). they are high intensity discharge as the dealer said, there AWSOME, they have theses things called ballests that "ignite" the bulbs. but there 350% brighter than halogen. but im wondering if they make these things for a pool and if it is possible i could have them in mine as i would love the extra bright blue light they have.


but then i realized that 4 of our cars have these and that their speding out in the auto world. WHy not the pool world.

so my question is, with proper placement of the BALLESTS and waterproofing, could i have these awesomely bright lights in my pool?

 

[JoshU]

No one is making anything with HID lighting for pools. With that said, a white LED light will be available later this year (should be pre-summer). It will actually give off a very clear white light unlike the yellowish standard pool light.

Josh

 

[Guest]

HID headlights (high intensity discharge) are actually a type of metal halide light, which along with sodium vapor and mercury lamps are a type of high voltage arc discharge lamp. Metal halide lighting has been used in aquariums for several years and it does produce a very bright light source with a very cool color temperature (blue white). It has also been available in pool lighting for a while now. Both Pentair and and Fiberstars make fiber optic illuminators that use metal halide lamps and Fiberstars makes the Jazz color changing pool and spa lights which use metal halide bulbs. These have been available for several years now. I am not aware of any others.
They have their downside however. One is the ballast arrangement to provide the high voltage needed to 'strike' ir ignite the bulb so they are not really instant on. It takes a few minutes until they deliver full light output. Second is that they generate quite a bit of heat, and UV which has to be filtered out. Third is that the bulbs are delicate and costly compared to tungsten or halogen lights.

 

[Guest]

HID headlights (high intensity discharge) are actually a type of metal halide light, which along with sodium vapor and mercury lamps are a type of high voltage arc discharge lamp. Metal halide lighting has been used in aquariums for several years and it does produce a very bright light source with a very cool color temperature (blue white). It has also been available in pool lighting for a while now. Both Pentair and and Fiberstars make fiber optic illuminators that use metal halide lamps and Fiberstars makes the Jazz color changing pool and spa lights which use metal halide bulbs. These have been available for several years now. I am not aware of any others.
They have their downside however. One is the ballast arrangement to provide the high voltage needed to 'strike' ir ignite the bulb so they are not really instant on. It takes a few minutes until they deliver full light output. Second is that they generate quite a bit of heat, and UV which has to be filtered out. Third is that the bulbs are delicate and costly compared to tungsten or halogen lights.

so their the old fashioned HIDs, not like my truck that ignites and warms up in about 6 seconds.

but yes the bulbs for my truck are 75 dollars a piece. i wonder what a pool takes. and your right ballest mounting would be an issue. the LED's sound coo though .

 

[LeeD]

The only HID option that I know of is fiber optic lights mentioned above. Supervision also makes a great fiber tower with a metal halide bulb. This solution is definitely expensive though, and you need to plan on this type of light in advance. On the bright side though, they are safer than standard lights, since the electricity is far from the water, instead of inside the light niche. (as if those aren't safe with a properly installed GFI)