The Implications of Fluorescent Lamp Electronic Ballast Dimming —An Experimental Study

Sheryl G. Colaco, Ciji P. Kurian, V. I. George, Anitha M. Colaco

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DOI: 10.4236/epe.2010.21009                

Abstract

In recent years, fluorescent lamp dimming controls are an integral part of daylight artificial light integrated schemes intended for realization of energy savings. However, dimming, like any lighting option, presents its own particular challenges and potential tradeoffs. In view of this, the present manuscript depicts the preliminary work progress carried out to arrive at a comprehensive idea on dimming implications on key factors: electrical characteristics, photometric distributions of lighting systems and influence on quality as well as quantity of visual environment. The objective is to experimentally establish the acceptable range of dimming control voltage that would satisfy both electrical and photometric performance of luminaire. The vital part of the paper is devoted towards presentation of measurement results. For the experimental analysis, three representative samples of different commercial analog 1-10VDC electronic dimmable ballasts and fluorescent fixtures are compared and evaluated over their control voltage dimming range.

Keywords

dimming, power factor, power quality, chromaticity, light intensity, illuminance

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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