Fluorescent Lamp Starting Aids—How and Why They Work

Abstract

Envisioning all the constituent parts of the fluorescent lamp as being a starting aid (either positive or negative), an explanation of the effect of each of these components is given—with emphasis placed on the effect of the bulb wall resistance on the starting process. The advent of conductive coatings and stripes has expanded the options available to the lamp designer in terms of fill gas and pressure range. This, in turn, could lead to the development of more efficient and lower energy consuming lamps which could be operated on existing ballast circuits.