Abstract
The metal halide lamp is a high energy electric lamp
that produces visible light by an electric arc tube and it is a type
of high-intensity discharge (HID) that contains a fused quartz
and mixture of gases. These lamps inject noise into the smart-grid
power line communications (PLC) network. This can have a
strong and negative effect when using the PLC system to control
the automatic switching of lamps in public places. In this paper
we investigate the effects when the metal halide lamps with
electronic or electromagnetic ballasts are seen as noise sources on
the smart-grid power line network. It is shown that in the
CENELEC band: (3 kHz – 150 kHz) the interference level from
metal halide lamps is significantly below the allowed maximum
PLC signal levels. In the band 150 kHz – 30 MHz however, PLC
signals compete with Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC)
levels. The operational methods of the electronic and
electromagnetic ballasts when connected to the metal halide
lamps are explained.