China manufacturer of magnetic ballasts for metal halide flood lights & hps flood lights

Metal halide lamps are one of three types of high intensity discharge (HID) lamps in general use. The other two types are mercury and high-pressure sodium lamps. HID lamps have bright light output making them perfect for outdoor lighting.

Mercury vapor lamps are an old type of high intensity discharge (HID) lamp that are less efficient than the now widely used metal halide and high pressure sodium lamps.  However, these lamps continue to be used, both in existing fixtures and in some applications where the lower cost of mercury vapor lamps and MV ballasts.

Mercury (or mercury vapor) lamps are the oldest and most mature of the three types. They have long lives, but are only slightly more efficient than incandescent lamps in terms of maintained efficiency over lamp life. The radiant energy from the arc of a clear mercury lamp is generated in four discrete visible spectral lines that produce an unattractive rendition of object colors and skin tones. Therefore,most mercury lamps today use coatings of chemical phosphors on their glass outer wall to modify and improve color rendering.

You cannot use a mercury ballast with a metal halide lamp. The power supplied by a mercury ballast for starting and for cycling is different from the metal halides requirements and the mismatch can cause explosive failure of the metal halide lamp. Metal halide bulbs must be run using matching metal halide ballasts.