GE Releases Dimming Ballast in Normal and High Ballast Factor
GE has announced its new UltraStart 0-10v T8 electronic dimming fluorescent ballast, which the company says offers the most efficient dimming system on the market today. GE UltraStart 0-10v Dimming ballast are available in 1-4 lamp normal ballast factor or .88 light output and 2-4 lamp high ballast factor or 1.18 light output for applications where more light is needed.
UltraStart dimming ballast are multi-volt and operate in 120-277V range. Today’s fixed light flourscent systems are now 93% efficient and the next stage in additional energy savings is to either shut lights off with occupancy sensors or efficiently dim the lights with GE UltraStart 0-10v dimming ballast. This ballast can be effectively incorporated in popular lighting energy reduction strategies such as daylight harvesting, load shedding and energy management systems to allow for a more affordable and flexible controllable lighting system.
The ballast operates utilizing 0-10Vdc analog control dimmer and wiring. This is the most popular and cost efficient protocol. The ballast uses 4 wires: (hot and neutral) and two control wires (purple and gray) to control the voltage signal to the ballast. When the voltage is 10Vdc than the lamp/ballast will be at full light output. As the voltage decreases the ballast decreases light out put. Low voltage wiring is required to connect the ballast to the controller. A common low voltage wiring type is stranded- cooper twisted pair 18AWG. Low voltage wiring is considered Class 2 and not recommends for placement in the same conduit as Class 1 wiring, which is the power, ground and neutral lines. Most codes allow Class 2 wiring to be run without conduit and junction boxes. GE UltraStart T8 dimming ballast is compatible with 0-10v controllers that meet ANSI specifications?
GE states that its UltraStart 0-10v dimming ballast uses less watts than other dimming ballast on the market today. Other dimming ballast manufactures use more energy by continuously heating the lamps cathodes to maintain light. This is old technology. GE designed, UltraStart dimming ballast turn off the heat to the lamp cathodes after starting the lamp and keep the heat off until dimmed to a .71 ballast factor. This saves watts through this range. The Continuous Cathode cut-out technology allows for the essentially the same efficiency at 100% light out-put as our UltraMax instant start and UltraStart program start ballast. The ballast is also in compliance with a new proposed standard from NEMA (National electrical manufacturers association) called NEMA-LL-9. This standard calls for cathode heating specifications on dimming levels from 35% light output to 1%. By maintaining these heating standards at lower dimming levels, we can assure the user of optimal lamp performance with minimal end blackening and full program start rated lamp warranties.
The new dimming ballast will save money on maintenance cost because they operate in parallel. When a lamp fails in a multiple lamp fixture powered by the GE’s dimming ballast, the remaining lamps stay lighted. The maintenance staff will replace only the failed lamp. In all other manufactures dimming ballast, if one lamp fails then the entire fixture will fail. The maintenance staff will typically replace all the lamps because they cannot identify the failed lamp.
The user can save even more energy because these new ballast are compatible and warranted with F28 and F32/WM energy efficient 4 ft T8 lamps. GE’s dimming ballast will effectively start low wattage 4FT T8 lamps because of the highest open circuit voltage in the industry. The ballast starts lamps in 700ms(millisecond), which is the fastest in the industry and comparable to instant start. The ballast includes GE Patented anti-striation control capacitor that will prevent striations that are common for these lamps.
In addition to the outstanding operating efficiencies, these ballast are designed to operate in hot conditions. They are UL rated for operation in ambient temperatures of 55°C or 131°F. They also have an added UL Type CC Anti-Arc guard protection to prevent arcing if there is a bad or broken socket. Like all GE Electronic ballast they are RoHs (reduction of hazardous substance) compliant
