Fluorescent ballast schematic. A familiar and widely used example is the inductive ballast used in fluorescent lamps to limit the current through the tube which would otherwise rise to a destructive level due to the negative differential resistance of the tubes voltage current characteristic. An electronic ballast or electrical ballast is a device which controls the starting voltage and the operating currents of lighting devices. The ballast sometimes called control gear is a small device wired to the lights circuitry which restricts the amount of electrical current travelling through it. A wiring diagram is a streamlined standard pictorial representation of an electrical circuit.
It reveals the elements of the circuit as streamlined shapes and the power and also signal links in between the devices. Watch as total bulk lighting provides an overview of the fluorescent t8 ballast and what all those wires mean. Animation shows the circuit of the first kind of fluorescent lamp called the preheat. Buy your fluorescent t8 ballasts at.
Some are rated for only 120 volts others for only 277 volts used in commercial environments. What is the ballast in a fluorescent light. A fluorescent tube circuit includes a ballast wires lampholders and the tubes. Light bulb manufacturers use the term lamp when referring to fluorescent lights.
On this page we will refer to a fluorescent light bulb as a lamp or tube. See how the ballast and starting switch work to strike an arc in the lamp. Variety of fluorescent ballast wiring schematic. An electric current in the gas excites mercury vapor which produces short wave ultraviolet light that then causes a phosphor coating on the inside of the lamp to glowa fluorescent lamp converts electrical energy into useful light much more efficiently.
It does this through the principle of electrical gas dischargean electronic ballast will convert power frequency to a very high frequency to initialize the gas discharge process in fluorescent lamps by controlling. Electricians usually refer to a light bulb as a lamp. An electrical ballast is a device placed in series with a load to limit the amount of current in an electrical circuit. What is electronic ballast.
Fluorescent lamps use a ballast which transforms line voltage to a voltage to start up and operate the lamps. Individual vs common ballast wires. It actually is a lot simpler than then you think.