I bought a couple of SON floods a while back and while they give a reasonable light output I'd rather have a whiter light.

There seem to be several different wattages available, but how do these compare to a typical halogen flood?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

How powerful do they have to be? I've got three of the new 38W fluorescent floodlights at my French property. They give a good white light, are cheap to run, but obviously, aren't a patch on 500W or 1000W halogens.

What about those newer ones, as used in footy ground floodlights, I think they must be HIDs?

Alcazar

Metal halide is your friend. They're more expensive than SON, but the light is much nicer:thumb:

Hi mate

Yes metal halide all the way. Target prices :)

250 Watt, metal halide floodlight, inc. photocell and wall bracket £85.00 + VAT each
400 Watt, metal halide floodlight, inc. photocell and wall bracket £95.00 + VAT each

HTH

Tony

Thats great Tony- not sure what power to go for though- how do 250 / 400s compare with the light output from a 500 watt halogen? Appreciate its difficult to be accurate, a guisstimate wil do.

Thanks,
Simon :)

I would say a 250 metal halide is equivalent to a 500 watt halogen although that is based on experience and not science ;)

TONY

Close enough for me :) Thanks Tony. Have pm'd you.

:thumb: agreed. Only difference is once you turn a metal halide off, you can;t turn it straight back on again. But if it's not to be used that way, they're excellent:)

you can get a few different styles of colour for the metal halide lamps

a warmer yellow tinge or a more brighter blueish tinge.

i have 8 x 150 units up around the carpark at work and they are bright enough :)

the 70 watt versions that used to be up were a bit crap TBH
the 250watt versions i have (2 units) light up the inside of the carwash, they are quite bright :)

I would say a 250 metal halide is equivalent to a 500 watt halogen
I think they feel brighter than that, but it's a different kind of light, sort of softer and wider spread. I've got 2 of these (http://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Products/TCMET70.html) 70w ones and they light up an area the same as a couple of 500w halogens.

The downside, as with sodium, is a slow warm up, but once they're going, they're great. Quite a blue light, so are great for lighting up the greens in the garden - much nicer than sodium IMHO.

Some example lumen outputs to show you how much more energy efficient they are:thumb:

150W Halogen flood 2,400 lumens
500w Halogen flood 10,500
100w Metal Halide 6,800 lumens
400w Metal halide 25,000 lumens