HPS Grow Lights - High Pressure Sodium (2024)

FAQs

Are high pressure sodium lights good for plants? ›

High-pressure sodium lights are a good choice because they emit a light that is stronger in the orange / red spectrum, due to their rich sodium content. Growing a young plant with HPS bulbs will ensure an impressive vertical growth.

Sale of metal halide lamps would be prohibited after December 31, 2026. High pressure sodium vapor lamps would have manufacturing/import cutoff date of December 2028 and sales cutoff of December 2031.

High pressure sodium lights have made indoor growth of crops possible, but without the proper safety precautions these lights can do serious damage to the human eye. The damage done is often times irreversible so it is imperative that people working in grow rooms take the proper steps to protect their eyes.

High Pressure Sodium lights have excellent lifespan as well (although not as good as LED) which is why they have traditionally been used for outdoor street lighting in municipalities where energy efficiency is at a premium. Typical lifespan values for an HPS bulb are around 24,000 hours.

High-Pressure Sodium (HPS) is the most efficient type of gas discharge light. These lamps have high energy efficiency that emits high luminance over a broad area.

Applications. High Pressure Sodium lamps are recommended in a wide variety of applications including industrial, commercial, street, and security lighting. These lamps are extremely efficient when compared to incandescent and fluorescent and that makes them particularly suited for energy efficiency applications.

Not all HPS lamps are created equal, a 1000W HPS lamp Single Ended (SE) HID bulb typically lasts around 9 months under proper operating conditions but Double Ended (DE) HID bulbs, commonly used in commercial settings, can last up to 18 months, nearly twice as long.

There are several popular grow light alternatives available in the market, including LED grow lights, fluorescent grow lights, and high-intensity discharge (HID) grow lights. LED grow lights are energy-efficient and provide a wide spectrum of light suitable for all growth stages of plants.

One of the most common questions growers have when it comes to making the leap into LED lighting is whether they can complete a simple one-to-one swap of their HPS fixtures for LEDs. While the short answer is yes, it is possible, the reality can be a bit more complicated.

Disadvantages of High Pressure Sodium

Although they are very popular for street lights, they don't serve many other applications. They also have the worst CRI of any light source, falling around a 25 and like Metal Halides, require a warm-up period and may flicker or cycle on and off at the end of life.

Do HPS lights emit UV rays? ›

HPS lamps give off a lot of UV light, but their housing (i.e. the glass bulb) is coated to filter out these rays. If the bulb is damaged, however, imperceptible UV radiation has been known to cause skin problems. The FDA have evenreleased warnings about damaged mercury-vapor lights causing health concerns.

High-Pressure Sodium (HPS) Lamp

HPS lamps differ from mercury and metal-halide lamps in that they do not contain starting electrodes; the ballast circuit includes a high-voltage electronic starter. The arc tube is made of a ceramic material which can withstand temperatures up to 2,372°F.

Metal halide and high pressure sodium lamps are not being banned, but they are being phased out in favor of more energy-efficient lighting technologies such as LED and CFL bulbs. The US Department of Energy has set a goal of phasing out incandescent and halogen bulbs by 2023.

LEDs have much higher efficacy than HPS lights. LEDs are much more efficient than HPS lamps, which allows them to use lesser watts to achieve the same or higher output. The VOLT Grow® 720W FL-1 light produces a higher light output than a standard 1000W HPS light while using 30% less power.

The higher the wattage the hotter the bulb. This applies to high pressure sodium or incandescent / halogen bulbs. Incandescent bulbs do get hot and that is because it is their principle of operating.

High-pressure sodium lamps are quite efficient—about 100 lumens per watt, when measured for photopic lighting conditions. Some higher-power lamps (e.g. 600 watt) have efficacies of about 150 lumens per watt.

Ironically, most HID grow light enthusiasts recommend using both MH and HPS grow lights. MH grow lights (metal halide) are suited best for vegetative growth and HPS grow lights are superior for flowering.