High-intensity discharge lamp
A lamp that produces light by passing an electrical current through a gas or vapor under high pressure. HID lamps have a long life and consume little energy to produce a great amount of light. However, they distort the color rendition of objects and are used mostly as ambient lighting for commercial interiors. Ballasts are required to start the lamp. Types include mercury vapor lamps, metal-halide lamps, and sodium vapor lamps. The different types contain different gases, which produce different colors of light.
Illustrated Dictionary of Architecture Copyright © 2012, 2002, 1998 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved
high-intensity discharge lamp
One of a group of mercury, metal halide, or high-pressure sodium lamps.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Architecture and Construction. Copyright © 2003 by McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.