Scribd
Upload
39 views

Volume 7 Issue 4 June 2003: Home About Us Newsroom Publications

A ballast regulates the current and provides sufficient voltage to start and operate fluorescent lamps. It maintains the optimal electrode temperature for long lamp life. A ballast is designed to operate a specific number and type of lamp at a specific voltage.

Uploaded by

Katukuri Ravi
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
39 views

Volume 7 Issue 4 June 2003: Home About Us Newsroom Publications

A ballast regulates the current and provides sufficient voltage to start and operate fluorescent lamps. It maintains the optimal electrode temperature for long lamp life. A ballast is designed to operate a specific number and type of lamp at a specific voltage.

Uploaded by

Katukuri Ravi
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 1

What is a ballast?

| Adaptable Ballasts | Lighting Answers | NLPIP

Search

Page 1 of 1

home

| about us | newsroom | publications

Volume 7 Issue 4

June 2003

NLPIP Home

What is a ballast?

In a fluorescent lighting system, the ballast regulates the current to the lamps and
Adaptable Q&A
provides sufficient voltage to start the lamps. Without a ballast to limit its current, a
fluorescent
lamp connected directly to a high voltage power source would rapidly and
Resources
uncontrollably increase its current draw. Within a second the lamp would overheat and
burn out.
During
lamp
starting, the ballast must briefly supply high voltage to
Sponsors
and
Credits
establish an arc between the two lamp electrodes. Once the arc is established, the
ballast Glossary
quickly reduces the voltage and regulates the electric current to produce a
steady light output.
Legal Notices

Maintaining an optimum electrode temperature is the key to long lamp life. Thus,
Site Map have a separate circuit that provides a low voltage to heat the lamp
some ballasts
electrodes during lamp starting and typically during lamp operation (Hammer, 1995).
To achieve full rated light output and rated lamp life from a fluorescent lighting
system, a ballasts output characteristics must precisely match the electrical
requirements of the lamps it operates. Traditionally, ballasts are designed to operate a
specific number (usually one to four) and type of lamp (such as a four-foot T8 lamp)
at a specific voltage (in North America either 120, 277, or 347 volts). Thus, to find a
ballast compatible with a particular luminaire (light fixture), lamp type, lamp
quantity, and line voltage must all be known. For more on ballast technology, see
NLPIPs Specifier Reports: Electronic Ballasts.

2003 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. All rights reserved.


Previous

Contact Us

Next

| Privacy | 1995-2015 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY 12180 USA - All rights reserved

http://www.lrc.rpi.edu/programs/nlpip/lightinganswers/adaptableballasts/ballast.asp

8/2/2016

You might also like

pFad - Phonifier reborn

Pfad - The Proxy pFad of © 2024 Garber Painting. All rights reserved.

Note: This service is not intended for secure transactions such as banking, social media, email, or purchasing. Use at your own risk. We assume no liability whatsoever for broken pages.


Alternative Proxies:

Alternative Proxy

pFad Proxy

pFad v3 Proxy

pFad v4 Proxy