The National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) published ANSI C78.43-2017 American National Standard for Electric Lamps—Single-Ended Metal Halide Lamps. Developed by the ANSI Committee for Electric Lamps, this revision provides physical and electrical requirements for single-ended metal halide lamps that are operated on 60 Hz ballasts, ensuring interchangeability and safety.

"This standard provides electrical requirements for ballasts and ignitors, as well as lamp-related requirements for luminaires. It also includes lamps whose arc tubes are made of quartz or ceramic materials," said Selmar Dorsey, lead regulatory engineer for Current powered by GE, and chair of the subcommittee that revised C78.43.

Dorsey said that in addition to updated normative references, major changes include:

-Comprehensive ignitor requirements for electronic low-frequency square wave (LFSW) ballasts are now in Part I

-Two new lamp data sheets for ceramic metal halide lamps:

         -20W-C156 with T4.0, T4.5, and MR16 bulb configurations

         -250W-C50 for use on ballasts designed for high-pressure sodium lamps

ANSI C78.43-2017 is available in hard copy or as an electronic download for $500 on the NEMA website. 

NEMA's Lighting Systems Division, as the secretariat of ANSI's ASC C78 for Electric Lamps, is looking for industry experts in the User and General Interest categories to participate in standards development activities. Contact NEMA at [email protected] if you are interested. Please indicate your interest category and your area of expertise.