Gallery of Lights
The Site => General discussion => Topic started by: dor123 on February 17, 2010, 06:36:22 AM
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In Europe there is a possibility that a ban of magnetic ballasts (CCG) has been announced. I think that because Osram COMPLETELY eliminated the production of ALL their magnetic ballasts for ALL types of general lighting discharge lamps (Fluorescents, LPSs, HPSs, MHs). Preheat, reactor and/or any means of magnetic control gear aren't appering in their cataloges anymore.
Wants an evidence? Enter their site: www.osram.com and enter their catalog and the control gear section.
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In the near past Osram also producted magnetic ballasts (CCG) for fluorescents and HIDs. However when i searched magnetic ballasts within their catalog for the existence of PL-L 24W magnetic ballast, i have not found any magnetic ballast, not for fluorescent and not for HID. All the Ballasts that appeared in the list of control gears was QUICKTRONICs, POWERTRONICs and ECGs.
By the way i found the former category of CCGs for fluorescent lamps but it is now contains only one magnetic ballast for 58W T8 lamps (Clearance stock, production was ceased, as they have no picture of it).
Electronic ballasts in street lighting and exterior lighting are enclosed and protected from the environment by the fixture and therfore suitable for these applications.
As far as i know, rectification is a problem only with fluorescents and LPSs which is one of their EOL mechanisms and electronic ballast can protect against this with its EOL shut down protection mechanism.
Humming of electronic ballasts and flickering of lamps with them is all unusuall. Hum is a result of low manufacturing quality of the ballast. With low frequency electronic ballast for HID lamps i don't know about flickering but still they shouldn't flickers as the frequency is still higher then the mains.
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Regarding rectification: Only some old or cheap HF electronic ballasts for 120V mains had this problem (they were using voltage doubler, what center point was possible to use as lamp current return without anything). Most new ballasts use bridge rectifier with PFC to boost the DC voltage to required ~300..400V, so no such "handy" node is in the circuit, so it is not possible to avoid the use of capacitor DC decoupling.
Low frequency HID ballast operate lamps at quasi-DC (DC with periodically reversed polarity - current is bipolar square wave), where they don't care about DC voltage component - depend on design they or deliver constant current (regulated by slow regulation loop to maintain constant average power) or directly constant power, so unlike with magnetic ballasts there is no excessive current as result of rectification.
I think the disappearing HID magnetic ballasts are some error - it does not make sense to do electronic for >250W, as the efficiency of both is about the same from 150W and above.
But i think it has more to do with expected elimination of quartz MH's in EU (due to efficacy requirement limits), while ceramic are max 250W and for 250W electronic are available.
I think those "outdoor" rated (-40..80degC) would have not big isues - when i saw problems, it was somebody "saving money" by using cheaper indoor (0..70degC) rated ballast outdoors, so exceeded at least it's temperature rating.