Halarc 'First Light' Self-Ballasted Metal Halide
This "First Light" lamp is an advanced prototype of what was placed on the market a year later under its production name Halarc Miser Maxi-Light.  It was a few decades ahead of its time, marking the first ever attempt to bring the efficacy of metal halide into the domestic sector.  Its development was fuelled by the simultaneous work of GE's Elmer Fridrich on low wattage metal halide arc tubes, and the energy crisis of 1973.  GE managers saw an opportunity to engineer his arc tubes into a domestic lamp that would halve energy usage.

At the heart of the lamp is a 32-watt sodium-scandium arc tube.  The chemistry is uniquely prevented from demixing by operation on DC, and by arranging the anode uppermost this draws sodium ions upwards which consequently decreases the colour temperature to an acceptable level of 3200K for domestic use.  A quartz shroud helps to minimise sodium loss and keep colour stable during life.  To overcome the warm-up delay, an incandescent filament is also included in the outer bulb.  Not only does this provide instant light, it helps the ballast regulate power without bulky wirewound components.  The assembly is mounted on an 8-pin valve-type glass base, and dimming is possible in a 3-way lampholder.

By the time GE completed development the energy crisis was over, and indeed Philips' SL lamp with compact fluorescent technology just beat it to the market.  That overcame many of the drawbacks of the metal halide alternative, namely no hot re-strike feature, colour instabilities, a rather pronounced flicker, restriction to vertical base down use, and the very high sale price.  Despite millions of dollars of investment, GE's lamp was not popular and was withdrawn by 1984.  It's arc tube however lives on in the company's Halarc 32 watt lamp.
Manufacturer: General Electric Co. (USA)
Lamp Power: 55 or 35 Watts
Lamp Current: 0.46 or 0.29 Amps
Lamp Voltage: 110-125 Volts
Cap: E26d / 25 Aluminium
Bulb Finish: Diffuse Leaded Borosilicate
Bulb Type: TB-60 TB-19 in eighths / inch
Overall Length: 145 mm 5 3/4 inches
Light Centre Length: N/A N/A
Electrodes: Thoriated tungsten
Inner / Outer Atmosphere: Inner: Ar | Hg, NaI, ScI3 Outer: Argon-Nitrogen
Luminous Flux (Vertical): 2,250 lm (at 100 hrs)
Luminous Efficacy (Vertical): 41 lm/W (at 100 hrs)
Colour Temperature & CRI: CCT: 3200K CRI: Ra 65
Chromaticity Co-ordinates: CCx: 0.421 CCy: 0.392
Burning Position: Vertical Base Down only
Rated Life: 5,000 hours to 50% survival
Warm Up / Re-strike Time: 3 minutes 15 minutes
Factory: Nela Piloting, Cleveland OH, U.S.A.
Date of Manufacture: 1981
Original / Present Value: US $15.00 (1981) 16.30 (2004)
 
References: 1) Photometric measurements of lamp.
2) Lighting Design & App. lication Vol.9, August 1979, pp. 63.
3) Smithsonian Institution Website "Lighting a Revolution" http://americanhistory.si.edu/lighting/20thcent/promo20.htm.