Shielded Reflector Question

[sdesi2005]

I just purchased (2) ROIII with the BlueWave VII dual HQI ballast. I used Sanjay's website to plot the difference between using this type of bulb/ballast combo in both a shielded and unshielded applications.

The plots for the two options had very different outputs. It seems as though you lose significant output (I have heard in the vicinity of 6-8% through the tempered glass shield provided with these fixtures. I have also read about the possiblity of changing to Starfire glass instead ( I heard the loss is reduced to <2%). Does anyone have any experience with this? Does Starfire glass provide the UV qualities of regular tempered glass?

I would love to run these reflectors without the glass but, salt buildup ruins the reflective qualities of the aluminum.

 

[Greg Hiller]

Don't run without the glass, whatever you do. The UV will kill things fast. I know from 1st hand experience, a mogul bulb's outer shield cracked..not pretty.

Interesting idea to run with starfire glass. I imagine it would have to be 'tempered' starfire, if such a thing exists. I kind of doubt there would be that much benefit, but who knows. Good quesiton for Sanjay. I bet anything he's been asked before.

 

[sdesi2005]

I'm sure you could have a piece of the Starfire cut and tempered to fit in the reflector, I just wonder if it would still have the same UV benefits and if the PAR rating would increase noticeably

 

[Greg Hiller]

Sanjay,

>A question came up the other day on our web site. Any advantage to
>using Starfire glass for the glass shield in an double ended
>fixture? Any significant increase in light transmitted?

You may get a slight increase in light transmitted.. but not really
worth the cost.. you can get the same effects by keeping the glass
clean and lowering the lights slightly.

 

[waltm]

I believe ROIIIs come with low-e glass. Wouldn't switching to Starfire also increase the amount of IR (heat) allowed to pass?