High-intensity discharge (HID) outdoor lighting lasts longer, uses less energy and requires less maintenance. So what exactly is this amazing miracle technology that shines brighter and can keep your community’s streets just a little bit safer—at a lower cost?

Let’s take a look:

Basically, HID light comes from an electric arc. Each HID arc-type light contains a tube that’s filled with gasses and metal salts. When the light is switched on, the gas sparks the arc’s initial strike, which heats up the metal salts, which forms a sort of brightly glowing plasma that amplifies the arc’s discharge. This process makes HID lights relatively slow to start shining (why it’s a good idea to use them in, say, street lamps, which are kept on for long periods of time). But once the HID lamps are turned on, the result is an unmatched luminous efficacy (light output per watt of electricity used).

For example, take a look at how much more efficient HID outdoor lamps are compared to fluorescent and incandescent lamps:

• While incandescent bulbs generally last between 750 and 1,000 hours, high-pressure sodium HID lights usually last 24,000 hours.

• While incandescent bulbs produce just 20 lumens of light per watt, high-pressure sodium lights produce nearly 120 lumens per watt.

Light quality isn’t truly problematic, either. Take the color rendering index (a 0-100 scale that compares the effect of a type of light on color), for example—metal halide bulbs produce light at a 70 CRI rating (better than most fluorescent lights).

The rugged, high-performance technology behind HID lighting has always been ideal for outdoor and industrial applications, where lighting large areas at as low a cost as possible is key. These days, you can find HID bulbs in everything from sports cars to decorative street lamps like ours.