One of the more recent lighting advances has been the use of electronic
ballasts to reduce energy costs while maintaining the light that we're all used
to. It took quite a few years of research and some trial and error before
manufacturers like Universal got it right, but they finally did. There were several issues
to overcome, but the most important were starting the lamp in cold temperatures
and maintaining a high light output as well. This is no small thing when
it comes to high output electronic ballasts. Electronic components
sometimes don't operate well in temperature extremes. So the ballast is critical in
this system and getting it to work right took some time. The development came into
what are called generally high output electronic ballasts. These have
the ability to start the lamp at a lower starting temperature than standard
ballasts and creating a higher lumen output too. The typical applications
are outdoor lighting, sign lighting and coolers and freezers which need a lot of
light maintained regardless of the cold temperature. They're are used as a
replacement for the old style magnetic type that wasted energy. In fact,
many electric utilities have offered rebates on these over the years making it
easier for people to switch to more efficient lighting systems. The most common type
of lamps are still the T12/HO, but there are also T8 and T5 HO choices in
today's market. One of the ways that these are abbreviated is with the two
letters HO. If you ever see HO as part of the code number, you will know
that they are high output fluorescent light bulbs. You will find these in
almost any length as they have many different lighting applications so they can
be as little as 2 feet long and as much as 10 feet in some special cases.
As mentioned before, these fluorescent bulbs rely on particular ballasts in the fixtures
for proper operation. In the past, the magnetic ballasts for the HO lamps were usually much larger than
the standard types, and put out a lot more heat. Those ballasts are very
heavy too! Some of that is changing when it comes to electronic ballasts
as they have a size that is almost the same as the standard electronic ballast. They
are also much lighter, really no heavier than standard electronic ballasts.
Remember that the ballast is important because it is specific for each type of lamp. You
can't change from one type of fluorescent to another without changing the
ballast in most cases. Most of the time the ballast and the lamp are
matched electrically and so it's good to make sure the ballast you have is the
right one for the lamp you choose. In the case of high output
electronic ballasts, you will find that many of these will operate various
lengths within a certain range. Such as the 8 foot and 6 foot lamps
sometimes use the same HO ballast. Almost every manufacturer makes high
output fluorescent ballasts, among them are Universal ballasts and many others.
Keep in mind that there are many choices for high output electronic ballasts,
which include lamp length, voltage, wattage and some of the general characteristics here. We have a large inventory of
electronic ballasts for nearly every type of light fixture in the
field. It's never a problem to get what you need since Universal is our preferred brand of
this type of lighting. If
you need help identifying a ballast, our customer service
representatives can help you determine which one it is by the code number on the
label. We have extensive cross references which will tell us exactly what
you have, no problem!
Specials
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