The Application of Electronic Ballasting with Medium Arc Metal Halide Lamps

There is a rapidly growing interest in the application of electronic ballasting to power medium arc metal halide lamps. Advantages of electronic ballasting are their compactness in physical size and weight, increased efficacy, reduced energy consumption, and elimination of light modulation. However, there are several major concerns when designing an electronic ballast to properly power a medium arc metal halide lamp. They include proper lamp wattage regulation, avoidance of acoustical resonance effects, proper driving waveform selection, and radio frequency noise suppression. Several techniques have recently been developed that provide excellent possibilities for satisfactory operation of the medium arc lamps with increased frequencies and square or rectangular waveforms produced by electronic ballasts. These topics are discussed, along with a practical approach to correct ballast design as a function of the medium arc metal halide lamp's requirements.

Print ISSN

0036-1682

Published

1989-10

Content type

Original Research

DOI

10.5594/J02640