250W Metal Halide LED Replacement

What Does it Take to Replace a 250-Watt Metal Halide?

Too bright is as bad as too dim. Trying to find the right solution can be daunting. Luckily, we’re here to help.

What LED Wattage Replaces a 250-Watt Metal Halide?

Rule 1: Never buy an LED HID Retrofit Lamp based entirely on watts. Instead, you should focus your attention on the number of lumens you are going to need to replace a bulb or fixture.

Rule 2: You will need fewer LED lumens to replace Metal Halide lumens. Trust us on this one (and we explain why below).

What’s the Difference Between LED and Metal Halide Lumens?

First, let’s define exactly what a lumen is. A lumen measures the total quantity of visible light output emitted by a light fixture. So, lumens measure the amount of visible light that we can see. The way that LEDs and Metal Halides generate light is completely different, and because of this, LEDs can produce a much higher amount of lumens with a much lower wattage. This is why we strongly suggest that you never buy new LED products based on the wattage of your metal halide lights.

So how do you know which LEDs are the best options for replacing your Metal Halide lamps? With a photometric lighting plan. When we run a lighting-plan calculation, our software pulls all the information for a specific fixture and maps out the predicted lumens and foot candles for a specific area. This allows you to see how your new LEDs will look in your facility, which makes them essential for replacing lighting.  And, best of all, our photometric lighting calculations are free.

The best color temperature to replace metal halide bulbs is 5000K.

What You Need to Know Before Replacing Metal Halides with LEDs

1. Light Loss from Reflection

There are many things that can affect the amount of light that reaches the ground, and reflections are one of those. Lumens are measured as the light leaves the fixture, but that doesn’t mean that you’re getting all of that light where it’s needed. In order to measure how much light actually reaches the surface, we use foot candles.

LEDs are unique in many ways, one of which is their directional shine. Unlike other types of bulbs, LEDs are a directional light source. This means that the light is emitted from the fixture in a specific direction. Metal Halides, on the other hand, are omnidirectional, and this means that they require some form of a reflector to direct their light. If you’re wondering why this is a big deal, you’re not alone. Many people don’t realize that every time light is reflected off the surface, lumens are lost.

If a Metal Halide bulb has 18,000 initial lumens, the loss accounted for reflected lumens drops the lumen output to around 12,600 lumens.

Yikes, that’s a lot of lost lumens, and in fact, studies have proven that you can lose up to 30% of the effective lumens in this reflective process. It’s important to be aware of this factor because if you’re using Metal Halide lighting, you’re not actually able to use all the lumens the fixture produces. So, when you buy your fixtures, make sure that you lower the lumens to avoid an overly bright workplace.

2. Quality of Lumens – CRI

Color Rendering Index, or CRI, is the best way to compare the quality of light. Light with a higher CRI rating offers better visibility and a more accurate representation of colors. The higher the quality of light, the less quantity you need. How does this affect the replacement of a 250-Watt Metal Halide fixture?

Well, more often than not, our customers find that 10,000 lumens of our high-quality LEDs are noticeably brighter than 18,000 lumens from other light sources, like HPS. So you do not have to sacrifice brightness when you use a higher quality light source.

3. Photopic vs Scotopic Lumens

In terms of lighting, you must understand the two different types of lumens and what we perceive as visible light

• Scotopic lumens: Can be perceived by the human eye.
• Photopic lumens: Can only be seen with a light meter.

In many cases, lights emit rays that span across the spectrum, and some of those rays, like UV and IR, are Photopic lumens. What this means for lighting is that most traditional bulbs use energy to produce light that we can’t even see, and has no value to what we need for lighting purposes ( think UV and IR Lighting ).

4. Metal Halide Lights vs LED: How to Save Energy

Replacing 250 Watt Metal Halide with LED

• LED Low Bay / High Bay: 250 Watt LED Equivalent Low Bay Lights
• NSF Lighting: 250 Watt LED Equivalent NSF Lights
• Shop Lighting: 250 Watt LED Equivalent Shop Lights
• Flood Lighting: 250 Watt Equivalent LED Flood Lights
• Shoebox Parking Lot Lighting: 250 Watt Equivalent LED Parking Lot Lights
• Wall Pack Lighting: 250 Watt Equivalent LED Wall Packs

LED Wattage Equivalent to Metal Halide – Reduce Power Consumption

• 100 Watts Metal Halide: 20-40 Watts LED Equivalent
• 250 Watts Metal Halide: 70-100 Watts LED Equivalent
• 400 Watts Metal Halide: 120-200 Watts LED Equivalent
• 1000 Watts Metal Halide: 240-400 Watts LED Equivalent

What’s the First Step to Start a Conversion to LED?

Without a doubt, the best first step is to ask us to perform a free lighting plan for you. Converting your facility (indoors or outdoors) to LED starts by deciding how many foot candles you need. Supply us with your project information, and we’ll take it from there.

We can specify new fixtures or recommend an LED retrofit kit inside your existing enclosed fixtures or open fixtures.

And we do free lighting plans for commercial and industrial customers. Why? We know that a lighting plan will be the roadmap to a successful conversion to LED. And we want your project to be a success too!