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Q: dimming power compact bulbs ?

G

George Pontis

Jan 1, 1970
0
I would like to be able to dim two or four 96W power compacts in an aquarium
application. Dimming to 30% would be OK, to 20% or less would be fantastic. I have
not found any ballasts that are suitable, and have heard that PC may not be
dimmable at all. I measured a 4 pin tube that I have and found that it has
filaments (40 ohms cold), so that seems encouraging.

Are there any ballasts that I can buy off the shelf that can handle this ? Either
line voltage or 0-10V control would be OK.

George
 
V

Victor Roberts

Jan 1, 1970
0
I would like to be able to dim two or four 96W power compacts in an aquarium
application. Dimming to 30% would be OK, to 20% or less would be fantastic. I have
not found any ballasts that are suitable, and have heard that PC may not be
dimmable at all. I measured a 4 pin tube that I have and found that it has
filaments (40 ohms cold), so that seems encouraging.

Are there any ballasts that I can buy off the shelf that can handle this ? Either
line voltage or 0-10V control would be OK.

I'm not sure what you mean by "power compact" but if these are T5
twin-tube lamps, such as the Philips PL-L series or GE HLBX series
there should be ballasts that can dim them. These lamps can most
definitely be dimmed, all you need is the right ballast. Any
fluorescent lamp, other than instant start lamps, can be dimmed.

--
Vic Roberts
http://www.RobertsResearchInc.com
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J

JB

Jan 1, 1970
0
George Pontis said:
I would like to be able to dim two or four 96W power compacts in an aquarium
application. Dimming to 30% would be OK, to 20% or less would be fantastic. I have
not found any ballasts that are suitable, and have heard that PC may not be
dimmable at all. I measured a 4 pin tube that I have and found that it has
filaments (40 ohms cold), so that seems encouraging.

Are there any ballasts that I can buy off the shelf that can handle this ? Either
line voltage or 0-10V control would be OK.
I think you may have a problem finding ballasts suitable for this
application. Dimmable ballasts are indeed readily availble for most compacts
up to about 80W. However you won't easily find multi-lamp dimmable ballasts
at this power level though.
I design around many different 1-10V analogue and SD/DSI/DALI digital
ballasts but not above 80W PL-L or 80W T5. I would keep an eye on the
Philips website though, as it's about time they produced a dimmable ballast
for their excellent 60/85/120W PL-H lamps. That would indeed be a useful
beast for retail luminaires with daylight-linked dimming controls.

JB
 
G

George Pontis

Jan 1, 1970
0
I'm not sure what you mean by "power compact" but if these are T5
twin-tube lamps, such as the Philips PL-L series or GE HLBX series
there should be ballasts that can dim them. These lamps can most
definitely be dimmed, all you need is the right ballast. Any
fluorescent lamp, other than instant start lamps, can be dimmed.

These aquarium lights are similar in appearance but more powerful and not
compatible with the ones you mention. They are about 34" overall length and have
two parallel tubes of about 7/8" diameter, joined at the end by a crosstube. 96W
for this size. The dimmable ballasts that I have seen (Lutron, Advance) do not
handle tubes beyond about 50W. Do
 
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