LOW INTENSITY

DISCHARGE LAMPS
• Low intensity discharge lamps or more commonly referred to
as fluorescent lamps are among the most widely used light
sources in the world because they require little energy to
produce a great deal of light.
• The immense variety of modern luminaires provides a
universal basis for the use of fluorescent lamps in the
commercial. Industrial and residential sectors.
• Different light colors and different color-rendering levels are
available for a whole variety of lighting applications
• Fluorescent lamps, in common with other discharge lamps,
cannot be operated direct from the electrical supply. This is
due to the fact that discharge lamps have a NEGATIVE
resistance characteristic.
• Unlike filament lamps, where the current decreases when
voltage increases, in a discharge lamp, current increases with
an increase in lamp voltage. That means that the lamp will
destroy itself if no action is taken to limit the current.
BASIC PARTS OF A FLUORESCENT LAMP
BASIC PARTS OF A FLUORESCENT LAMP
Fluorescent lamps have various operating modes,
depending on the way the electrodes are brought
up to the required operating temperature:
Current-controlled pre-heating in choke/starter mode

• Current-controlled pre-heating in choke/starter mode

is preferred in countries with a high main voltage (200
V or more). Used increasingly in most electronic
control gear (ECG).
Voltage-controlled pre-heating with additional
transformer windings in “rapid-start” mode.
Cold Start (No pre-heating)
• This type of starting reduces the lamp life more than any
other type and is therefore not recommended for systems
with frequent on/off switching.
• Electronic ballasts convert the mains voltage into a high-
frequency oscillation of around 35 to 50 kHz. As a result, the
flickering that may appear as a stroboscopic effect in
conjunction with rotating machine parts, for example, is
much less noticeable or virtually invisible.
Fluorescent lamps have three designations:
1. Preheat operation
2. Rapid start operation
3. Instant start operation
PREHEAT OPERATION
• Lamp electrodes are heated prior to initiating the discharge.
A “starter switch” closes permitting a current to flow through
each electrode.
• The starter switch rapidly cools down, opening the switch,
and triggering the supply voltage across the arc tube,
initiating the discharge. No auxiliary power is applied across
the electrodes during the operation.
INSTANT START OPERATION
• Lamp electrodes are not heated prior to operation. Ballasts
for instant start lamps are designated to provide a relatively
high starting voltage (with respect to preheat and rapid start
lamps) to initiate the discharge across the unheated
electrodes.
RAPID START OPERATION
• Lamp electrodes are heated prior to and during operation.
The ballasts transformer has two special secondary windings
to provide the proper low voltage to the electrodes.
• Rapid start is the most popular mode of operation for 1200
mm T-12 40 W lamps.
• The advantages of rapid start operation include smooth
starting, long life, and dimming capabilities.
• The 1200 mm 32 W F32T8 lamps are a rapid start lamp, but
commonly operate instant start mode with electronic high-
frequency ballasts. In this mode of operation, lamp efficiency
is improved with some penalty in lamp life.
• Lamps of less than 30 W are generally operated in the
preheat mode. Lamps operated in this mode are more
efficient than the rapid start mode as separate power is not
required to continuously heat the electrodes. However, these
lamps tend to flicker during starting and have a shorter life.
• The terminals of Preheat and Rapid start type lamps are the
same either miniature or medium two-pin terminals.
• Instant start lamps are usually easy to spot, as the terminals are
single pin.
• There are exceptions, but the standard T8 commonly found in
the Philippine market is used as if it were any of the three types
(i.e. used in any starting mode). Therefore, users should not mix
and match lamps and ballasts without first confirming that the
lamp matches the operation mode of the ballasts to be
connected. Without this confirmation step, it is possible to
experience short life and warranty or safety issues.
FLOURESCENT TECHNOLOGY
Discharge lamps cover around 80% of our total artificial lighting
needs, with low-pressure mercury discharge lamps,
“fluorescent lamps”, making up the bulk (95%) of the discharge
family. Naturally, with this prominence, ongoing research is
well justified, leading to developments such as:
• The change from T12 (38 mm) to T8 (26 mm) – reduced
material
• Improved phosphors (triphosphor) – better color
rendering/longer life and better lumen maintenance
Rare Earth (RE) Phosphor Lamps
• Rare Earth (RE) phosphor technology improves the performance
of fluorescent lamps. RE phosphor compounds are selected for
their ability to produce visible light at the most sensitive
wavelengths of the eye’s red, blue and green sensors.
• When compared with conventional halophosphors, such as cool
white (with a CR1 of 60-62), RE phosphors produce better color
rendering and higher efficacy, while improving lumen
maintenance characteristics. For reasons of lumen
maintenance, rare earth materials are required in small
diameter lamps, e.g. compact fluorescent and T5.
• RE phosphors raise lumen output up to 8% over conventional
halophosphors.
• RE phosphors lamps are available for most fluorescent lamp
configurations and are available in a wide range of color
temperatures.
TYPES OF FLUORESCENT LAMPS
• There are many types of fluorescent lamps to cater for a wide
range of applications. Some require electronic control gear,
such as T5 and T2 lamps, while others can be operated on
conventional (electromagnetic) control gear or electronic
control gear, such as T8 and T12.
TYPES OF FLUORESCENT LAMPS
The size of tubular fluorescent lamps are often referred to as
T2, T5, T8 or T12, which is an indication of their diameter, such
as:
T12 = 12/8” or 38 mm diameter
T10 = 10/8” or 32 mm diameter
T8 = 8/8” or 26 mm diameter
T5 = 5/8” or 16 mm diameter
T2 = 2/8” or 7 mm diameter
Mercury Reduced Fluorescent Lamps
• In recent years improved manufacturing process have made it
possible to reduce the absorption of mercury into the coating
and the glass. This is in turn was utilized to further reduce
the mercury content of fluorescent lamps without
compromising lamp starting at low temperatures.
• The mercury content in different types and brands of lamp
varies. The older style T12 (38 mm diameter) lamps contain
between 15 – 30 mg of mercury, while standard T8 lamps
contain up to 15 mg of mercury.
Mercury Reduced Fluorescent Lamps
• All triphosphor-coated lamps now contain approximately 4.5
mg (+/- 0.5 mg) of mercury against the previous (already
reduced) levels of around 8 mg.
• As such, triphosphor and reduced mercury content lamps
(T8) are recommended for their contribution to the
protection of the environment during disposal.
• Several countries have already established regulations for the
disposal of FL lamps to prevent mercury from being dispersed
in the environment we live in.
Operating Parameters
Lamp Life
• Depending on the particular issue, we use various definitions
of lamp life. The most commonly used term is “Average Life”.
• Average life is defined as the number of burning hours of a
reasonably large sample of lamps at which 50% of the lamps
are still operating. This applies for lamps under normal
operating conditions at a 3-hour switching cycle as per IEC
standards.
(IEC – International Electrotechnical Commission)
There are two different factors which describe the
performance of fluorescent lamps, namely:
Lamp lumen depreciation (or Lumen maintenance)
Mortality

Lumen maintenance describe the reduction of light output

over life. Mortality indicates the expected failure rate of lamps.
Economical Life
• The economical life, i.e. the time after which the lamps have
to be replaced, depends on the maintenance factor in the
lighting design calculation.
• Generally, we should replace lams when the total installed
flux has dropped to 80% of the initial flux.
• Based on Efficiency Lighting Initiative (ELI), performance
specifications, the luminous flux of a lamp must be more than
90% of the initial luminous flux level at 40% of the model’s
rated lifetime.
Switching Cycle
• Switching cycles can have a dramatic effect on the life of fluorescent
lamps. The “average life” of fluorescent lamps is based on a 3 hour
switching cycle.
• The graph below shows the
relationship between lamp life
and the switching cycle of
fluorescent lamps used with
conventional control gear
(CCG).
• It can clearly be seen that
switching cycles of less than 3
hours will result in a
dramatically reduced lamp life;
however, by extending the
switching cycle, lamp life will
also be extended.
Luminous Flux and Ambient Temperature
• Ambient temperature refers to the temperature immediately
surrounding the lamp, not the actual room temperature, and
has a major influence on the behavior of a fluorescent lamp.
• The most efficient mercury vapor pressure of 0.8 Pa occurs
when the lowest wall temperature (that is, the cold spot), is
between 40oC– 50oC. This corresponds to an ambient
temperature of 20oC– 25oC in the case of T8 and T12 lamps and
between 33oC– 37oC in the case of T5 lamps. As the bulb wall
temperature will change with a change in ambient temperature,
the lamp voltage and lamp current will also change.
Luminous Flux and Ambient Temperature
• Ambient temperature refers to the temperature immediately
surrounding the lamp, not the actual room temperature, and
has a major influence on the behavior of a fluorescent lamp.
• The most efficient mercury vapor pressure of 0.8 Pa occurs
when the lowest wall temperature (that is, the cold spot), is
between 40oC– 50oC. This corresponds to an ambient
temperature of 20oC– 25oC in the case of T8 and T12 lamps and
between 33oC– 37oC in the case of T5 lamps. As the bulb wall
temperature will change with a change in ambient temperature,
the lamp voltage and lamp current will also change.
• These characteristics of fluorescent lamps must be taken into
consideration when luminaires are selected.
• In case of low ambient temperatures such as cool-rooms, for
example, a carefully chosen luminaire can act as an insulator
to an unfavorable ambient environment.
• In such a case, a lamp will need a warming up period before it
reaches maximum output. If, in this example, an open fixture
was used, the lamp may not exceed 20 – 25% of its rated
output. This shows the fact that, in order to obtain the best
possible result, correct heat balance of the lamp is of utmost
importance.
Relative Luminous Flux/Ambient Temperature
Cold Spot
• Low temperature can also affect the starting behavior of fluorescent
lamps.
• The location of the “cold spot” varies for different types of lamps. For
most linear fluorescent lamps, the cold spot is located half way along
the glass tube, while for T5 linear fluorescent lamps the cold spot is at
the same end as the lamp “stamp”.
• With most compact fluorescent lamps, the cold spot is at the bend of
the glass tube; however, the cold spot in amalgam lamps is located in
the lamp base.
Cold Spot
Energy Efficiency
• The ratio of transformation of electrical energy into “visible
energy” is an important indication as to the efficiency of a
light source.
• It is this measure that greatly influences the choice of a light
source and fluorescent lamps compare extremely favorably
with other lamps.
 Energy Efficiency
• To determine the effectiveness, one must first consider the energy
loss of the conversion of UV radiation into visible radiation.
• This jump in wavelengths from 254 nm (the most powerful UV
radiation line) into the 550 nm region represents an energy loss of
around 50%.
• Assuming efficiencies of 80% for the mercury emission, 75% for
the fluorescent coating and the losses in the electrodes, an overall
efficiency of around 25% results. This is still 3 to 4 times greater
than the energy transformation rate of an incandescent lamp.