Studies show that at least 30 percent of most business’s electric bills are due to lighting. One of the simplest ways you can cut down on your electrical consumption is by replacing your fluorescent bulbs with new, more efficient versions and with the ballasts in the fixtures to go along with them.
The Purpose of Light Ballasts
Light ballasts are devices to limit the current in an electrical circuit. In a fluorescent light, it limits the amount of current that goes through the tube, preventing it from burning out prematurely. Every fluorescent light fixture has a ballast of some type, but newer high efficiency models are designed to work with high performance bulbs that use much less power.
Advantages of New Ballasts
Replacing light ballasts in your place of business will save your company money, but it will also turn your business into a greener, more efficient workplace. Among the benefits are:
- Raising the efficiency of your lighting fixture
- Reducing energy loss
- Creating more light with less power
- Lowering your monthly energy bills
- Reducing residual heat
Types of Ballasts
Fluorescent ballasts come in two varieties, electromagnetic and electronic. If you’ve got older fixtures in your business, your lights may have electromagnetic ballasts installed. They use electromagnetic induction to start and operate the voltages in your light. There is a coil of wire inside these ballasts that combine with an electromagnetic field to transform voltage. These ballasts limit the flow of current to the light but don’t change the frequency of the input power. The bulb will light up on each half-cycle of the power source, which is what causes the signature flickering of most older fluorescent bulbs.
Electronic ballasts, on the other hand, use a solid-state circuit to transform voltage. Unlike the electromagnetic ballasts, they can also change the frequency of the power. This means that electronic ballasts can reduce or even completely eliminate the flickering in your fluorescent lamps. Because of their solid-state circuitry, as opposed to the electromagnetic ballasts’ magnetic coils, electronic ballasts are more efficient and will run cooler.
Financial Benefits
It may seem counterproductive, spending money to replace all the lighting ballasts in your business, just to save money, but they will end up paying for themselves in a surprisingly short amount of time.
- First of all, the reduced use of electricity lowers your monthly electric bill immediately. You’ll see a significant difference in the amount of power you use each month.
- Next, the light ballasts allow less power to flow through the bulbs, so you’ll need to change them much less often.
- Thirdly, the newer lighting system runs much cooler than old fashioned fluorescent lights, so you’ll save even more money by not having to use your air conditioning as much.
- Finally, the fact that you’re using green technology is a great selling point for customers and clients, and may cause an increase in business because of your ecologically-minded business practices.
Make changes today by replacing your light ballasts and reap all the benefits you can. For information and advice or an estimate to fulfill your electrical requirements, contact Static Electric for a free consultation.
Recent Comments