High Pressure Mercury Lamp (HPMV)

"The use of mercury vapor lamps for lighting purposes will be banned in the EU in 2015. As this ban is designed to phase out less efficient lamps it does not affect the use of mercury in compact fluorescent lamp nor the use of mercury lamps for purposes other than lighting.^[11] In the USA, ballasts and fixtures were banned in 2008.^[12] Because of this, several manufacturers have begun selling replacement compact fluorescent lamps for mercury vapor fixtures, which do not require modifications to the existing fixture."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercury-vapor_lamp

That cant be much a of a ban here in the USA being its now some 5 years later I can still walk into any hardware and home supply store and buy a new MV based lighting fixture plus replacement bulbs and ballasts as well.

Don't get me started on how many US based online stores carry them as well.

It's a tangled web of bureaucratic cluster f.....

"After Jan. 1, 2016, no general purpose mercury vapor lamp may be manufactured. These are the least efficient type of high intensity discharge (HID) lamp and can be replaced with other types of HID lamps or other lamp types. EPAct 2005 banned new mercury vapor fixtures and ballasts, so sales have already been declining. This new provision would complete the transition away from mercury vapor lamps."

www.facilitiesnet.com/lighting/article/NEMA-Announces-Consensus-Legislative-Proposal-on-Outdoor-Lighting-Standards--11293

http://www.petitiononline.com/16mercvp/petition.html

http://mercuryvaporlight.com/banned-Mercury-Vapor-Lights/energy-policy-act-of-2005.html

http://mercuryvaporlight.com/index.html

http://ceolas.net/Docs/Osram_Sylvania_rules_USA_Ban.pdf

Thank you: it gets me how up in arms these "Dark sky" fanatics and others like them are. Metal halide lamps are, lets face it, simply a slightly enhanced MV bulb. mercury is also in sodium pressure bulbs which are from my personal observation, "JUNK!" I believe if some one wants to use sodium thats fine, but someone who wants to use MV should also be allowed to utilize this time tested light source. The lamps clearly have warning labels on them to tell people to use caution; the next thing you know they will be trying to ban dirty underwear, because it poses a clean air threat! What i think it really boils down to, that because MV lamps last more than 50 yrs in a lot of cases, greedy government fat cats want to try to force people to use something that fails quickly and has to be constantly replenished. This thereby makes more$$$ for the corporations manufacturing them and in turn makes more for politicians!

All high pressure lamps of similar construction have a quartz or ceramic high pressure inner capsule, that is surrounded by a much larger bulb. High pressure mercury is only one type. Similar is Sodium vapor. Then there is the metal-halide group. Then there are high performance gas discharge light sources. All are relatively high power, from a high fraction of kW to many tens of kW. All are high efficiency, over 30% if I recall right.

If somebody is hot on eliminating mercury, the low power single envelope types should be eliminated too.

I gave up long time ago trying to make sense of European rules. See ROHS manufacturing. Ruled years ago, still not well in hand. Costs a hell of a bundle.

Common sense often takes a back seat, when the clowns are driving! It sounds like greed and manipulation while standing on the backs of people who are paying taxes to these miscreants...