How often should you replace HPS bulbs? Beginners' Guide

When should you change out your HID bulbs?

HID (High Intensity Discharge) grow bulbs such as HPS (High-Pressure Sodium and MH (Metal Halide) need to be replaced approximately every year in order to perform at optimum levels. Even more often, if they run 24 hours per day and not on the 12/12 on/off lighting cycle. Worn out bulbs will still send out light but at diminished levels, and replacement bulbs are fairly affordable, making it a no-brainer to replace the bulbs for more light and bigger yields quicker.

High intensity discharge lighting (HID), such as metal halide (MH) lamps, diminish in PAR, or usable light energy for plants, over time for a few reasons. The main reason is the way they start up.

When an HID lamp is first fired, it receives a huge voltage pulse, much higher than what it uses during normal operation. The initial voltage blast slightly damages the lamp every time the bulb is fired.

Over time (6-12 months), the repetitive process of firing the lamp causes the properties of the arc tube to change, which decreases intensity and causes a color shift in the spectral output.

HPS bulbs enhanced with the blue spectrum will usually degrade in the blue spectrum output first, due to the specific compounds used. Blue spectrum aside, HPS grow lights degrade a bit slower than MH grow lights. If you use HPS bulbs, plan to replace them after 10-14 months of use.

When should you change out your Double Ended HPS Grow Lights?

Growers using double ended hps grow lights should replace these lamps once every 12 months to maintain consistent yields from crop to crop. Many growers have been told DE lamps will last for two years. This is not true. DE lamps can operate for many, many years but their effective growing window is 12 months when using a 12-on, 12-off flowering light cycle.

Growers using light meters to measure Photosynthetic Active Radiation (PAR) in micro moles (µmol) will only see a 5% loss in intensity after one year of use. Since the light meter is only measuring PAR between 400 and 700 nanometers, it does not tell you the lamp has lost over 10% of the total amount of light energy produced by the DE lamp. The spectral quality of the light at this point has dropped below its initial ability to produce high yields.

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