The Effects of High Voltage on Fluorescent Lamp Ballasts

A fluorescent lighting system consists of a lamp and a ballast, or ballast resistor. The ballast supplies a specific starting voltage to the lamp and varies its resistance to maintain the correct level of current to run the lamp.

  1. Ballast Life

    • Ballast life depends on supply voltage, ambient temperature and operating temperature. High supply voltage increases the temperature of a ballast, reducing the life of a component known as an electrolytic capacitor.

    Electrolytic Capacitor

    • An electrolytic capacitor accumulates and holds electrical charge via two plates immersed in a conducting medium known as an electrolyte. To protect the electrolytic capacitor and other components from high supply voltage, a ballast employs filters and voltage limiters.

    Energy Star

    • Ballasts endorsed by the Energy Star program -- a joint program of the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy -- have been shown, experimentally, to be insusceptible to high voltages. They showed no failures due to high voltage, even when operated at 30 percent above their nominal voltage rating for a period of three weeks.

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