China manufacturer of magnetic ballasts for metal halide flood lights & hps flood lights

Ballast Basics:

Fluorescent and HID lamps require a ballast to apply starting voltage to the lamp and establish current flow – an "arc" – between the lamp electrodes. Once the lamp is operating, the ballast also regulates lamp current and power. Ballast types fall into two broad categories:

 

 

A simple device that uses a core and coil assembly transformer to perform the minimum functions required to start and operate a lamp. Magnetic ballasts are often found in HID systems, as well as older fluorescent systems.

 

Electronic ballasts use semi-conductor circuitry to regulate the current flowing through the lamp. The electronic components that compose an electronic ballast are smaller and lighter than the core and coil assembly of a magnetic ballast. Thus an electronic ballast can weigh less than half as much as a magnetic ballast of the same size.

Different lamps require specific ballasts designed to maintain current levels needed for varying tube designs. Using a mismatched lamp and ballast can shorten the life of all components and increase the possibility of overheating, failure and leakage.