The flicker occurs because each time a magnetic ballast crosses 0 volts

Everyone can look forward to flicker-free fluorescent lighting very soon, as Sylvania along with other lighting manufacturers are no longer allowed to produce magnetic ballasts. Magnetic ballasts were the cause of the fluorescent flicker so many people have been irked by over the years.

The flicker occurs because each time a magnetic ballast crosses 0 volts, the lamp will flicker 120 times a second; this happens nearly constantly, hence the annoying flicker. Along with this annoyance, certain voltage/frequency scenarios can cause a magnetic ballast to be unable to uphold the required parameters to keep a lamp lit. Nonetheless, they have always been quite reliable, evidenced by their 60+ years of existence.

Ballasts allow fluorescent lighting and HID (high intensity discharge) lighting to work. Light bulbs of that sort can’t work without a ballast to provide the voltage spikes for lamp ignition, and thereafter to regulate the voltage to maintain light. Electronic ballasts improve upon a lot of the failings of the magnetic ballasts. The most important part is that because electronic ballasts run at such high frequencies, the flicker is not perceptible by the human eye. That means no more flicker!

More improvements include the use of solid state electronics for converting AC to DC to AC at the aforementioned very high frequencies. There is also a far wider range of frequency and voltage that electronic ballasts can handle, so it is rare for them to be unable to power a lamp at any time.

The best and most noticeable effect of electronic ballast is the lack of flicker. As the last of magnetic ballasts are used up, we will eventually have flicker-free lighting everywhere!

Every type of lighting that is vying to replace the incandescent blub uses electronic ballast. During this transition period, various types of energy efficient lighting will surge in sales. High-efficiency fluorescent tubes, high-intensity discharge (HID) lighting, as well as CFLs and other lighting technologies will see increasing sales, driving growth for sales of the corresponding electronic ballasts.

That will be good news because it will drive a huge surge in ballast sales. It may also be bad news because every type of lighting requires very different types of ballasts. Only companies offering the right ballasts and ballast components will benefit. For makers of electronic ballasts and related components, this is a critical period. Targeting the wrong lighting technology at the wrong time will be disastrous.

What started as a political desire to slow global warming has grown into a complex mixture of technological, economic, environmental and political issues. This report delves deeply into each of these areas and identifies the key drivers that will determine the adoption of future generations of lighting technologies. As is true in almost every area of electronics, technology availability and economic viability will be the dominant factors determining the winners and losers in the race to replace the incandescent bulb.

About the Author

Ningbo Zhengjia Electric Appliance Co., Ltd is a professional R & D manufacturer and exporter of electronic ballast for fluorescent lamps(FL) and Compact Fluorescent Lamps(PL).

1960′s Sylvania Tube-type color TV

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This entry was posted on Monday, July 26th, 2010 at 12:15 pm and is filed under Vintage Electronics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.