ABSTRACT
Fluorescent lamps are low-pressure gas discharge lamps. In the discharge, ultraviolet radiation is generated. The life of a fluorescent lamp is limited by the electrode systems. The first electrodes were “coiled coils” similar to those of incandescent lamps, but the emission material, needed to increase the thermionic emission of electrons, crumbled. Since 1930, the efficacy of fluorescent lamps has increased dramatically from about 30 LPW to now 100 LPW and more. Up to the end of the 1960s, a customer had to choose between deluxe lamps with excellent color rendition but low luminous efficacy, and halophosphate lamps with high efficacy but reduced color rendition. An important property of fluorescent lamps is their specific dependency of light output and electrical performance with temperature. This has to be understood and recognized to get the best performance possible from a fluorescent lamp. The configuration of electronic ballasts for compact fluorescent lamps is similar in principle to those for standard fluorescent lamps.
