The sodium vapor lamp is a type of gas discharge lamp that uses sodium vapor to produce light. They are one of the most efficient current lighting sources, as they provide a large number of lumens per watt. The color of the light they produce is bright yellow.

It is divided into two types:

The sodium vapor focus is composed of a translucent ceramic discharge tube, in order to withstand the high corrosion of sodium and the high temperatures that are generated; At the ends it has two electrodes that supply the electrical voltage necessary for the sodium vapor to ignite.

To operate these lamps, a ballast and a starter (Ignitor) are required, generally a capacitor is added but its function is only to improve the Power Factor or Cosine of Fi of the assembly, which can be discarded with the consequent increase in the apparent Power (we would see this by measuring with a Voltammeter Clamp).

It requires around 4-6 minutes to turn it on and 4-5 minutes to turn it back on.

The life time of these lamps is very long since it is around 24,000 hours and their performance is between 80 and 150 lum/W for SAP and between 135 and 200 lum/W for SBP.