Ballast electronic

Key technologies that are used in modern lighting include electronic ballasts, more efficient tubular fluorescent lamps, compact fluorescent lamps, and lighting controls. Fluorescent lighting is the predominant lighting system installed in post-1980 buildings and is used in 71 percent of floor space. Specialty retail stores use a combination of fluorescent and... 

At present, a fraction of the generated end-of-life FLs are being collected by the informal sector (kabadiwalas), largely from the large-scale consumers (industries and corporate sectors). The lamps are then disassembled by crude methods into useful components such as glass tubes (glass and phosphor powder), aluminum end caps, polypropylene caps, and electronic ballasts (electronic components which contain metal). The major processing hubs for the various components exist as follows ... 

II Moderate immunity Electronic ballasts, solid-state relays, programmable logic controllers, adjustable speed drives... 

A quite different technique is the application of electronic ballasts, commonly a combination of a rectifier on the mains side followed by a DC to AC inverter. Its frequency on the output side is adjusted to values exceeding 20kcps. In this frequency range, the fluorescent lamps show an increased luminous efficiency compared with a 50 or 60cps supply. In parallel, the upper limit of the human hearing is passed avoiding undesirable whistle caused by the magnetostriction of inductive components. 

Inductive ballasts (or inductive components of electronic ballasts) may be designed according to the specifications for increased safety - e -. ... 

T Tubular fluorescent lamp TC Tubular fluorescent compact lamp H High pressure HM High pressure mercury HI High pressure iodide HS High pressure sodium L Low pressure LS Low pressure sodium Q Quartz (halogen) lamp . T Tubular lamp . E Elliptical form (2) -D Double tube compact lamp -DE Double ended -L Long compact lamp -SE Self ballasted electronic -U U-shaped fluorescent lamp -Us U-shaped fluorescent lamp, short -EL Compact fluorescent lamp for external electronic ballast -with key letter T Tube diameter (in mm) (3) Lamp rated power (without ballast), in W. 

The electrical discharge is operated by an alternating high voltage with amplitudes of several kV and in the kHz to MHz frequency range. Commercially available excimer lamps (Xe2, KrCl and XeCl ) are usually powered by plasmagen-erators with an electric power of 20 W, 150 W or 1.5 kW. Electronic ballasts of higher power are under active development. 

Ballasts supply the UV lamps with the appropriate power to energize and operate the UV lamps. Ballasts use inductance (e.g., a coil or a transformer), capacitance, and a starting circuit. Power supplies and ballasts are available in many different configurations and are tailored to a unique lamp type and application. UV reactors may use electronic ballasts, magnetic ballasts, or transformers. 

My first exposure to electronic ballasts was, it now seems, light years ago (no pun intended), while I was working in the swank and well-equipped central R D labs in Bombay of one of India s largest electrical manufacturers. That company is to India, probably what Siemens is to Germany — with a huge and diversified market share in almost everything electrical. ... 

India, of all the hot, confusing, bustling places on earth, may actually form the best place to see what the brouhaha about ballasts is all about. It is the perfect testing ground (and potential graveyard) for all electronic ballasts, big and small, the ultimate leveler if ever... 

True, electronic ballasts cost more, but you are supposed to get paid back handsomely in a few years in reduced energy costs. Some governments also continue to contemplate subsidies to help consumers afford such ballasts. But I don t think it has happened yet. 

Note that the fluorescent tube also responds rather positively, in terms of its own life and performance, when driven at over 20 kHz (as in an electronic ballast), rather than with 60 Hz (as in magnetic ballasts). Tube-replacement costs are thus significantly reduced with electronic ballasts. But, wait What about the life of the ballast itself That is another story altogether ... 

Electronic ballasts unfortunately have been plagued by failures (see http //lightingdesignlab. com/commercial/articles/Energy Efficiency.htm). So how do we as traditional power supply engineers provoke incipient failures in power supplies We increase the stress levels, especially during design phases. Simple bum-ins are actually too kind to the system ... 

So it may confer minor bragging rights with inquisitive neighbors to possess fluorescent tubes in every room of the house The sage had mentioned these tubes provide a more acceptable illumination level even at such low input voltages. Provided they work To get them to work, magnetic ballasts are literally powerless. An electronic ballast can work in... 

This should help take the sting out of it. Next month will get into the nitty-gritty technicalities, and tell you exactly how the simple electronic ballast actually works, and how we ended up enhancing the reliability besides reducing the manufacturing cost by a factor of almost 2 in the course of what was probably the most successful R D technology transfer project in that company. Not that they remember me anymore ... 

This month I need to fulfill the promise I made about explaining what all we did with electronic ballast technology in India, thousands of years ago (or so it seems). 

The electrodes are mostly of the "eold-cathode" type. That is, they consist of unheated metal electrodes, which emit electrons under a high voltage. More recently, electronic ballasts, described above, have been used as well as micro-wave high-frequency ballasts. The problems of getting these lamps to operate properly upon a EXl voltage (using a battery) have been enormous. 

Cathode Disconnect Ballast - An electromagnetic ballast that disconnects a lamp s electrode heating circuit once is has started often called "low frequency electronic" ballasts. 

Compact Fluorescent - A smaller version of standard fluorescent lamps which can directly replace standard incandescent lights. These lights consist of a gas filled tube, and a magnetic or electronic ballast. 

Electronic Ballast - A device that uses electronic components to regulate the voltage of fluorescent lamps. 

Install more efficient lighting fixtures, electronic ballasts, emd long-life bulbs. Use task lighting, reduce lighting in nonproduction areas. 

The main customer benefits derived from implementing DSM measures are increased efficiency and lower energy costs. It is important to note, however, that some DSM measures may also introduce power quality problems. For example, some electronic ballasts for fluorescent lighting can cause harmonic distortion. Similarly, variable-speed motors, though highly efficient, often have detrimental effects on the operation of nearby equipment requiring clean power because they introduce harmonics and/or noise to the system. For this reason, carefnl evaluation of the power quality characteristics of new, high-efficiency equipment is reqnired before installation. 

Standard 2- x 4-ft four-lamp fixtures with T-12 (1.5-in-diameter) lamps and magnetic ballasts should be changed to T-8 (1-in-diameter) lamps and electronic ballasts. Delamp as appropriate to three lamps with or without reflector, two lamps with or without reflector, or new three- or two-lamp fixtures. 

Standard 2- x 2-ft T-12 U-tube fixtures should be changed to T-8 U-tube/electronic ballast or three 2-ft T-8 lamps and electronic ballast, with or without reflector. 

High-output fluorescent fixtures should be replaced with new fixtures containing T-8 lamps/electronic ballasts and reflectors. 

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