ABSTRACT
The voltage transformation and current regulating tasks of electromagnetic components can now be carried out electronically. This has a number of advantages: • for many applications, especially fluorescent lamp ballasts, the electronic solution results in higher efficiency. • electronic control can provide better regulation and better lamp starting; both can result in longer lamp life and better lumen maintenance throughout life. • besides these economic advantages, the electronic ballast or transfomer can be built in many different shapes or form factors. Whereas magnetic components must conform to certain shapes to allow automated manufacture and to achieve magnetic circuits of practical dimensions, the electronic equivalent is not so restricted. This helps the luminaire designer. • the reason for the flexibility in form factor is that the majority of electronic lighting components operate at high frequency; which in turn means that any transformer or inductor is very small compared to its 50/60Hz counterpart. • in the case of fluorescent lamps the operation of the lamp at high frequency eliminates the stroboscopic effect of lamps running at 50/60Hz (which can result in light pulses at 100/120Hz).
