Types Of Ballast For Fluorescent Lights

Tube lights also known as linear light bulbs are frequently used in office buildings kitchens work spaces and commercial installations as well as homes with varying sizes and brightness levels this guide reviews the different types and configurations of tube lights both fluorescent and led so you can choose the best tube lights for your light fixtures and other lighting needs.

Types of ballast for fluorescent lights.

Magnetic ballasts are the older ballast technology. For the fluorescent family both t12 linear fluorescents and two pin cfls use magnetic ballasts. The ballast is used to create the voltage and current necessary to start and illuminate the fluorescent lamp. There are two lamp families that work with a ballast.

A fluorescent fixture requires a ballast to send the proper amount of electricity to the fluorescent bulbs. There is no preheating of the electrodes for the. The ballast provides enough voltage to start the fluorescent bulbs and once they are. The magnetic ballast is capable of withstanding exposure to fluctuations and transients within an electric system along with temperature extremes.

A quadrac type light dimmer can be used with a dimming ballast which maintains the heating current while allowing lamp current to be controlled. An older magnetic ballast produced by advance transformer co used to support a 30 watt or 40 watt rapid start fluorescent lamp. Ballast designs using different lamp starting strategies. Lastly ballast factor is a measure of the total lumen output for a combined lamp ballast system.

Commercial cfls use a separate ballast. There are four basic types of fluorescent ballasts. Fluorescent lights use either an electronic or a magnetic ballast. And there are two types of ballasts in each family.

Instant start electronic ballasts use a high starting voltage about 600 volts to start very quickly less than 0 1 seconds. For hids some metal halides and hps lamps. 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. Typically the magnetic type of ballasts is used with fluorescent and neon lamps.

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. Some older types have starters too. Ballasts have a wiring diagram to show how they connect to the lampholders. 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 two different break downs of fluorescent light fixture ballast types as we explain here. In time the ballast may need to be replaced.