Discharge, Metal Halide, Sodium and Ceramic Lamps

Discharge Lamps a complete range of discharge light bulbs including a massive range of Metal Halide both ceramic and quartz lamps as well as a complete range on Son and SOX lamps. If you are looking for anything from a sodium light bulb through to a ceramic metal halide light bulb we will be sure to have it in stock.

Sodium lighting was originally designed for external flood lighting in carparks and open area, as well as street lighting. These had two names then, son lamps and sox lamps, both of which used seperate control gear to ignite the lamp and fire up the sodium gases contained within them.

Today however sodium and mercury lamps are used for a variety of different lighting applications, and now include specialist indoor lamps for sport stadium, halls, stage lighting and retail lighting.

This new generation of lamps also now come with ignitors built within the lamp and also ones that require an e ternal control gear to ignite and manage the lamp. This control gear comes in a variety of sizes, but generally each lamp requires a specific unit to iginite the lamp.

Should you see the letter "I" inside a triangle, this means that the lamp has an internal ignitor is within the lamp. and an "a+" means that the lamp gives out approx. 20% more light as the lamp is a plus lamp.

There are two main styles of sodium lighting that are used although there are many others as well, these are SonE and SonT lamps. SonE lamps are elliptical in shape and come in E14 small edison screwed, E27 standard edison screwed, and E40 giant edison screwed. The number after the 'E' is for the diameter of the screw connection.

The other style is the SonT, which stands for Tubular in shape and again comes in E14, E27 and E40.

Both the SonE and SonT do relatively the same applications but has been designed to allow light fotting manufactures to consider thinner units when space is restricted by using the SonT or consider a fitting that is deep, yet narrow width and length by utilising a SonE lamp.

Most people see a Son lamp when the drive down a road when dark, as traditionally these where orange in appearance, but today more shades are available including White.