Replacing a 400 HID Lamp for an LED

A common question we get all the time “is how to replace a 450 Watt Bulb for an energy efficient LED?”, that’s because most businesses and homeowners are looking for an easy way to save on energy bill costs and get better lighting out of it. Fortunately replacing a 400 to 450 W HID Lamp is easy; there’s no wiring or construction work needed – it’s a simple plug and play and we carry the perfect 150W Replacement Bulb for it.

Let’s get some things straight first:

Why is an LED Replacement Lamp for a 400 or 450 Watt HID Bulb a 150W Bulb?

When you’re out shopping, you usually measure what you buy by the number of units you get out of it; if you’re out to get milk you think about buying gallons or liters and tomatoes by the pound or kilo. When we buy light bulbs we’ve grown used to buying them according to the amount of energy they consume, instead of how much light they give us.  Not the smartest way, right?

If you’re looking to replace a light bulb, you can’t focus on Watts to determine the light output. You should be looking for a lower Watt option, since Watts measure the amount of energy consumed and you want that to be less – without dimming your space! That’s why you need to focus on lumens to gauge the light output you’ll get from your new bulb. It works like this:

• Watts measure power, showing you the rate at which electricity is being used at a given moment in time. That means that a 400W or 450W bulb draws 400 or 450 Watts of electricity at any moment when turned on, while the 150W bulb will only draw 150 Watts to produce the same amount of light. That’s more than 50% savings on one bulb alone!

• Lumens measure how much light a bulb emits, higher lumen rates mean brighter bulbs or more light, whereas lower lumen rates mean dimmer bulbs.  A 150W bulb has a 16500 Lumens output, which gives you a nice bright light that works really well as a replacement. The best part? It has 50,000 hours of estimated lifespan, so it’s a long term solution.

What Amount of Lumens Should You Look For?

In general the bulb’s box will have all the information you need on the label and you can always ask a professional for help,  but there’s a simple rule of thumb to follow:

Traditional or Incandescent Bulb in Watts	Lumens Needed	LED Replacement in Watts
450 W	16500 lm*	150 W
150 W	2600 lm	25 – 28 W
100 W	1600 lm	16 – 20 W
75 W	1100 lm	9 -13 W
60 W	800 lm	8 – 12 W
40 W	450 lm	6 – 9 W

* It’s important to note that HID light bulbs are naturally different from Incandescent ones, and are usually found in settings that need large amount of visible light due to their application and location: the gym, stadiums, warehouses, parking lots and high-ceiling buildings to name a few, therefore the lumens rate is higher and light output brighter. Simply put, you won’t be having a romantic dinner date under HID bulbs unless you really want to see each other, and that’s why there’s such a high jump in the Lumens needed to replace a 450 HID bulb for an LED.

Better Light, More Durability And Cash Savings

General Electric calculated that using 200 W of System Energy saves over $1,430 in energy costs over the rated life of a lamp when compared to the same System Energy using a traditional 460 Metal Halide lamp based on $0.11 per kWh (Kilowatt/Hour). If you add to that the fact that they last up to 50,000 hours in use (that’s 2.5 times more than standard metal halide lamps) and that they are wear and drop resistant, you get bright crisp light, in a more durable format and with significant savings that cut your current costs by more than half per lamp replaced!

Environmental Savings

Replacing a 400 HID Lamp for an LED has a bunch of environmental benefits too! By lowering your energy consumption by more than 50% your current amount, you’ll also be effectively reducing your CO2 emissions, complying with local environmental laws and helping to cool the planet by using a bulb that emits no heat. You’re not only easing up on the grid, you’re actually helping earth stay just a little bit cooler.

In Conclusion

To replace a 450W HID Bulb find a 150W LED Bulb and simply screw into place, look for one with 16500 Lumens and enjoy the benefits your new energy efficient LED has to offer. In order to help you a little bit more, here’s a quick guide for HID retrofit replacement bulbs with different wattage or energy consumption rates.

High Intensity Discharge Bulb	LED Replacement Bulb
450W HID Bulb	150W Bulb
250W HID Bulb	75W Bulb
175W HID Bulb	54W Bulb

Let us know if you have any questions and if this guide was helpful! Remember that every traditional bulb converted to an LED is one step closer to a lighting solution that has a net positive effect on the environment and your bottom line.