Before deciding how best to obtain a replacement ballast or getting into a discussion on what exactly a T8 ballast does, it is best to have a good understanding of digital ballasts and why they are best utilized over old-fashioned coil ballasts or those with a magnetic core. This article describes the benefits of utilizing digital ballasts over other types of ballasts. In fact, it may even be wise to get a grasp on the concept of the entire ballast system such as grow lights used by hydroponic gardeners.

A ballast system is used in any standard grow light utilized by hydroponic growers. This sort of ballast system can be found in fluorescents or lights with some sort of metal vapor and that system generally consists of electronic components and the housing for those components. The electronic parts of a ballast system work to prime the pump, so to speak, of the lighting.

The built-in ballast system in a fluorescent light works to build up the energy to light the molecules within the tube resulting in a fully lit fluorescent light. Not all grow lights contain built-in ballasts, however. HPS and metal halide lights function by utilizing remote ballasts, which are contained by a metal housing unit. Like the built-in ballast system of the fluorescent light, these remote ballasts work to create the power supply for the lamp in question. The remote ballasts work to generate electrical power, which they build up before providing enough power to the lamps to illuminate them.

The problem with such old fashioned ballasts is that after building up the energy supply, the send it to the lamp in one lump delivery. A cold bulb receives a shock of energy when the ballast has built up enough of a supply to light the lamp. This could be compared to putting your car’s manual transmission into gear, revving up to 4000 RPM and then letting the clutch out, the result is that you and the car peel away irresponsibly fast. This is not only dangerous for you, but for the engine of your car, which can be shortened by this kind of driving. The sudden blast of power from the ballast to the bulb can have a similar effect; bulb life is shortened just by turning the light on. You may notice that a bulb operated by such ballast will flicker when it is turned on; this is caused by what is known as coil-type ballast.

Digital ballast, on the other hand, does much to eliminate the kind of wear, old-fashioned ballasts put on a bulb. The digital version establishes a flow of energy to the bulb, which starts at a low level and gradually increases. This allows the bulb to warm up before it reaches its maximum brightness. Studies have shown that digital ballasts are much better for grow lamps; such light using digital ballast lost only 20-25 percent of its PAR luminescence over a year and the same light lit by old-fashioned ballast decreased in luminescence twice as much over that year.

Author Bio: Stewart Wrighter recently started purchasing lighting supplies such as a T8 Ballast online because of the convenience. He ordered Replacement Ballast online for his office.

Category: Business
Keywords: T8 ballast,replacement ballast