Ignoramus4324 wrote:

On Mon, 28 Nov 2005 18:21:41 -0000, Chris Lewis wrote:
According to Ignoramus4324 :
Thanks. You raised a great issue and I would not want to take any eye
damage risk. Would it make any sense to enclose them into some
appropriate (rated for heat input) glass diffusers of any sort? Glass
is a UV filter, right?

It looks as though going with more regular fluorescents may be more
sensible though.

I'd recommend the fluorescents for several reasons entirely aside from
potential UV emission.

- MH bulbs are _hot_. In a smallish area (a garage would qualify),
the directed heat will occasionally be uncomfortable.

Makes sense.

- MH systems are expensive.

Chris, just what is involved in having a "MH system"?

The lightbulbs seem to just need light sockets. I would suppose tat
they need robust switches, maybe 0 crossing solid state relays. What
else is involved, especially with indirect lighting?

They need a ballast (big transformer), and a capacitor. They take
thousands of volts to ignite, and thus require special HV socket and
wiring from ballast to socket. The ballast will require cooling (fan of)
it's own.

A fixture designed for indoor use should have a UV filter option, this
is generally a piece of heat tempered glass.

They will generate more UV than standard lights, so more fabric fading
is common.

It would be far easier to do it with 250 watt/U bulbs, since they are
more common, and work in any position.

For indirect lighting, you can get an outdoor fixture from a box store,
in the smaller sizes, that should work. At least enough to try it out.