Because the ballasts were remotely located, reliable starting was a problem. Over a period of time this caused premature lamp and ballast failures. Ballast maintenance was costly since the units had to be serviced from an overhead crane borrowed from production. Light levels were also insufficient, with illumination at five to eight footcandles. The units are integrally ballasted to be used with 1,000 watt high pressure sodium lamps.
All lamps are dual-arc tube type, providing instant backup in case of momentary voltage dips.
Since the burning time can now be switched between the two arc tubes, lamp life can be extended to as much as 40,000 hours. The Prismalume fixtures have an optional quick disconnect feature that facilitates maintenance. When maintenance is required, an individual luminaire can be disconnected and removed, and a new fixture installed on the disconnect hanger in minutes. This feature also made installation easier, since the hanger can be threaded onto the conduit and fixtures installed and energized at the same time. A total of 300 to 400 luminaires are installed, mounted at 35 to 40 feet.