In larger conventional fluorescent fixtures, the ballast is the heavy
black piece that has all the wires attached to it. It is responsible for
applying the correct surge of power to the tube to get it going, then
maintain the much less power needed for sustaining the light. The old
styles were heavy, created lots of heat, and even leaked nasty stuff in
certain failure modes! An electronic ballast replaces the old ones
directly but are lighter, use less juice for more light output and have
advantages like instant on and being able to keep one tube lighted when
the other dies (in a double fixture of course). It just has more modern
components inside to perform the same function. The cheap garage
fixtures available (usually for about $10) don't have any single black
box ballast in them... the parts are just wired into the fixture. Saves
space and $$$, but they are not the most efficient designs. I've found
they fail faster than the dedicated ballast type (either ones). If they
fail, you have to throw the entire thing away, though, rather than
replacing the ballast. In old styles, the ballast is pretty cheap ($10 -
$15 or so). Electronic ballasts cost a little more, but save you money
in the long run with their efficiency and longevity.
Camille Thompson wrote:
>
> Forgive my electrical ignorance, but what IS the
> ballast and how does an electronic ballast work?
--
Doug Johnston
www.ncal.verio.com/~scubadug
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