Types Of Ballast For Fluorescent Lights

Ballast factor and light output.

Types of ballast for fluorescent lights.

There is no preheating of the electrodes for the. Instant start electronic ballasts use a high starting voltage about 600 volts to start very quickly less than 0 1 seconds. Some older types have starters too. And there are two types of ballasts in each family.

For hids some metal halides and hps lamps. A fluorescent fixture requires a ballast to send the proper amount of electricity to the fluorescent bulbs. Lastly ballast factor is a measure of the total lumen output for a combined lamp ballast system. Commercial cfls use a separate ballast.

Ballast designs using different lamp starting strategies. The magnetic ballast is capable of withstanding exposure to fluctuations and transients within an electric system along with temperature extremes. Ballasts have a wiring diagram to show how they connect to the lampholders. The ballast is used to create the voltage and current necessary to start and illuminate the fluorescent lamp.

The low frequency electronic ballast is a variation of the magnetic one incorporating some electronic components. There are two lamp families that work with a ballast. A resistor of about 10 kω is required to be connected in parallel with the fluorescent tube to allow reliable firing of the quadrac at low light levels. Typically the magnetic type of ballasts is used with fluorescent and neon lamps.

A quadrac type light dimmer can be used with a dimming ballast which maintains the heating current while allowing lamp current to be controlled. For the fluorescent family both t12 linear fluorescents and two pin cfls use magnetic ballasts. The ballast provides enough voltage to start the fluorescent bulbs and once they are. Fluorescent lights use either an electronic or a magnetic ballast.

Magnetic ballasts are the older ballast technology. Nowadays magnetic ballasts are a rather outdated technology that manufacturers are phasing out and so they re usually only found on older types of lights. There are four basic types of fluorescent ballasts. An older magnetic ballast produced by advance transformer co used to support a 30 watt or 40 watt rapid start fluorescent lamp.

There are two different break downs of fluorescent light fixture ballast types as we explain here. By selecting a ballast with an ideal ballast factor you can optimize the light output of your fluorescent lighting system and maximize your energy savings.