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NATIONAL LIGHTING PRODUCT INFORMATION PROGRAM Electronic Ballasts Non-dimming electronic ballasts for 4-foot and 8-foot
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NATIONAL LIGHTING PRODUCT INFORMATION PROGRAM
The objective source of lighting product information
Electronic Ballasts Non-dimming electronic ballasts for 4-foot and 8-foot fluorescent lamps Volume 8 Number 1, May 2000
About NLPIP NATIONAL LIGHTING PRODUCT INFORMATION PROGRAM
Program Sponsors Energy Center of Wisconsin Iowa Energy Center Lighting Research Center Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance New York State Energy Research and Development Authority United States Department of Energy United States Environmental Protection Agency United States General Services Administration
The National Lighting Product Information Program (NLPIP) was established in 1990. NLPIP is administered by the Lighting Research Center (LRC), the world’s largest university-based center devoted to lighting excellence. NLPIP’s mission is to help lighting specifiers and other lighting decision-makers choose wisely by providing the most complete, up-to-date, objective, manufacturer-specific information available on energy-efficient lighting products. Priority is given to information not available or easily accessible from other sources. NLPIP tests lighting products according to accepted industry procedures or, if such procedures are not available or applicable, NLPIP develops interim tests that focus on performance issues important to specifiers or end-users. In 1998, NLPIP Online debuted at www.lrc.rpi.edu/nlpip, making the information provided by NLPIP even more accessible to lighting specifiers and other interested people. NLPIP Online includes both PDF files of Specifier Reports and several searchable databases containing manufacturer-reported data and test results. To help ensure its continued objectivity, NLPIP does not accept funding from manufacturers.
No portion of this publication or the information contained herein may be duplicated or excerpted in any way in other publications, databases, or any other medium without express written permission of the publisher. Making copies of all or part of this publication for any purpose other than for undistributed personal use is a violation of United States copyright laws. It is against the law to inaccurately present information extracted from Specifier Reports for product publicity purposes. Information in these reports may not be reproduced without permission of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. The products described herein have not been tested for safety. The Lighting Research Center and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute make no representations whatsoever with regard to safety of products, in whatever form or combination used, and the results of testing set forth for your information cannot be regarded as a representation that the products are or are not safe to use in any specific situation, or that the particular product you purchase will conform to the results found in this report. Products tested by the National Lighting Product Information Program may thereafter be used by the Lighting Research Center for research or any other purposes. ISSN 1067-2451 © 2000 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. All rights reserved.
2 Specifier Reports: Electronic Ballasts
NATIONAL LIGHTING PRODUCT INFORMATION PROGRAM
Volume 8 Number 1
May 2000
Electronic Ballasts Non-dimming electronic ballasts for 4-foot and 8-foot fluorescent lamps
Manufacturer-Specific Ballast Data and Test Results Online (www.lrc.rpi.edu/nlpip) Starting with this Specifier Report, the National Lighting Product Information Program (NLPIP) will not include tables of manufacturer-supplied and NLPIP-tested data in this PDF file. These data are available in a database through NLPIP Online, a service of the Lighting Research Center (LRC). The Web site explains how to retrieve and print data from the online database. The Web site also contains a full library of NLPIP publications, including Specifier Reports, Lighting Answers, and searchable manufacturers’ data and NLPIP test results. When NLPIP tests new ballasts, the data will be updated online.
Contents Introduction ........................................................................4 Background ........................................................................6 Types of Ballasts ......................................................................... 6 Lamp-Ballast Starting Methods ..................................................... 8
Performance Characteristics ...............................................9 Ballast Factor .............................................................................. 9 Ballast Efficacy Factor ................................................................ 10 System Efficacy ......................................................................... 11 Ballast Life ............................................................................... 12 Lamp-Ballast Interaction Effects .................................................. 14 Power Quality ........................................................................... 15
Physical Characteristics.....................................................17 Dimensions ............................................................................... 17 Weight ..................................................................................... 17 Sound ...................................................................................... 17 Flicker ...................................................................................... 18
Lamp Life Considerations ................................................19 Lamp Current Crest Factor ........................................................... 19 Instant-Start Operation .............................................................. 19 Rapid-Start Operation ................................................................ 20
Ballast Installation and Disposal .....................................22 Related Technologies........................................................22 Building Automation Systems ..................................................... 22 Dimming Ballasts ...................................................................... 22
Performance Evaluations .................................................23 NLPIP Testing Procedure ............................................................. 23 Results ..................................................................................... 25
Further Information .........................................................30
Specifier Reports: Electronic Ballasts 3
High-frequency electronic ballasts for fluorescent lighting systems, also called solid-state ballasts, are promoted as providing significant energy savings over magnetic ballasts. As shown in Figures 1 and 2, sales of electronic ballasts in the United States (U.S.) have grown more rapidly than those of any other ballast type in recent years. Their share (by volume) of the overall fluorescent lamp ballast industry grew from 1% in 1988 to 38% in 1998, as shown in Figure 1.
Figure 1. U.S.-Manufactured Ballasts for Fluorescent Lamps, by Quantity of Shipments (Bureau of the Census 1999) 1988 (75.7 million ballasts shipped)
1998 (104.2 million ballasts shipped) Corrected PF 41%
Corrected PF 75% Electronic 1%
Electronic 38%
Uncorrected PF 24%
Uncorrected PF 21%
Figure 2. Value of Shipments of U.S.-Manufactured Ballasts for Fluorescent Lamps (Bureau of the Census 1999) Value of Shipments (millions of U.S. dollars)
Introduction
600 Corrected PF Uncorrected PF Electronic
500 400 300 200 100 0 1988
1990
1992
1994
1996
1998
Year
Corrected PF ballasts are magnetic ballasts with a power factor (see p.15) of 85% or greater. Uncorrected PF ballasts are magnetic ballasts with a power factor less than 85%. This includes many ballasts for compact fluorescent lamps and some ballasts sold for residential applications.
This rapid growth was influenced by both the 1988 amendment to the 1987 National Appliance Energy Conservation Act, which eliminated “high-loss” (older, less efficient) magnetic ballasts and by the U.S. Energy Policy Act of 1992, which increased the use of fluorescent lamps with electronic ballasts (U.S. Congress 1988, 1992). As a result of an October 1999 agreement with ballast manufacturers and energy efficiency advocates, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) expects to issue a rule soon that will require the use of electronic ballasts by April 2005 in new construction and renovations of commercial and industrial buildings. The rule will also phase out magnetic ballasts for commercial and industrial buildings completely by 2010.
Specifier Reports: Electronic Ballasts 4
In December 1991 and again in May 1994, the National Lighting Product Information Program (NLPIP) published Specifier Reports: Electronic Ballasts, which provided information about electronic ballasts and performance data for specific manufacturers’ products. Since then, new manufacturers have introduced electronic ballasts, and manufacturers represented in the previous report have developed new electronic ballasts. This new Specifier Reports: Electronic Ballasts replaces the previous NLPIP publications by summarizing recent research on non-dimming electronic ballasts for fluorescent lamps. This research addressed ballast reliability and impacts on lamp life, as well as important lamp-ballast compatibility parameters such as glow current, electrode voltage, and electrode preheat time. This report discusses electronic ballasts for the following types of fluorescent lamps (see the sidebar “Fluorescent Lamp Designations”): • T5, nominal 4-foot (ft). These lamps require electronic ballasts. T5 lampballast systems are not intended to replace T8, T10, or T12 lamp-ballast systems, because they require different luminaires. • T8, 4-ft and 8-ft. Most ballasts for T8 lamps are electronic, although a few magnetic ballasts exist for them. • T10, 4-ft and 8-ft. These lamps can use either magnetic or electronic ballasts. • T12, 4-ft and 8-ft. Like T10 lamps, T12 lamps can use either magnetic or electronic ballasts. However, major manufacturers of 34-watt (W) T12 lamps state that the lamps are not intended for use with dimming ballasts, ballasts with low power factor, or ballasts with reduced light output (low ballast factor). They also warn that using the lamps on single-lamp ballasts could reduce lamp life. One manufacturer adds that when 34-W lamps are used with electronic ballasts, they might “display erratic starting before end of life.”
Fluorescent Lamp Designations Table 1 shows examples of generic designations for 4-ft and 8-ft fluorescent lamps. The format of the designation is FxxTy/zz, where:
F
= fluorescent
xx = nominal wattage [for lamps 60 inches (in.) or shorter] or length (in inches) from lampholder to lampholder T = tubular y
= lamp diameter in eighths of an inch
zz = suffix containing additional information about the lamp, such as whether it is a highoutput (HO) or energysaving (ES) lamp.
NLPIP collected data from 12 ballast manufacturers and independently evaluated 74 of the ballasts from the manufacturers for this report. These data appear in an online database (see the sidebar “Manufacturer-Specific Ballast Data and Test Results Online” on p. 3). An online supplement will follow that adds ballast data for T5 lamps.
Table 1. Fluorescent Lamp Designations Used in this Report Description
Power (W)
Length [in. (m)]
Diameter [in. (cm)]
Other
F28T5
Nominal 4-ft T5
28
46 (1.16)*
5/8 (1.5)
—
F32T8
4-ft T8
32
48 (1.22)*
8/8 (2.5)
—
F96T8
8-ft T8
59*
96 (2.44)
8/8 (2.5)
—
Designation
F40T10
4-ft T10
40
48 (1.22)*
10/8 (3.2)
—
F40T12/ES
4-ft T12
34*
48 (1.22)*
12/8 (3.8)
ES = energy-saving (in this case, a 34-W replacement for a 40-W lamp)
F96T12/HO
8-ft T12
110*
96 (2.44)
12/8 (3.8)
HO = high-output
* Not specified in lamp designation
Specifier Reports: Electronic Ballasts 5
Background
Types of Ballasts
Ballasts consume electricity while providing the necessary circuit conditions (voltage, current, and wave form) to start and operate fluorescent lamps. Three types of ballasts are sold for commercial applications in the U.S.: magnetic, hybrid, and electronic. Table 2 compares these ballast types. The rest of this report discusses the performance characteristics (such as ballast factor) listed in the table. Table 2. Comparison of Three Types of Ballasts for 4-Ft Lamps Number of lamps operated Starting mode* Weight (lbs)
Magnetic Ballast
Hybrid Ballast
Electronic Ballast
1–4
1–3
1–4
PH, IS, RS
RS
IS, RS, PS
3.5
3.5–3.7
0.4–5.0
Lamp operating frequency
60 Hz
60 Hz
20,000–60,000 Hz
System efficacy
Lowest
Higher
Highest
Ballast factor
0.63–0.99
0.80–0.95
0.73–1.30
Ballast efficacy factor (for 4-ft, 2-lamp system)
0.90–1.40
1.10–1.40
1.15–1.56
most 20
0.9
>0.9
>0.9