ADVANTAGES OF ELECTRONIC START:

Electronic starters are currently fitted as standard in some Fitzgerald fluorescent luminaire ranges and are offered as an option in most others. They contain no moving parts or contacts to wear out and remove the need to ever replace starters for the life of the luminaire.

In addition Electronic Start greatly enhances tube life to the extent that end blackening and life reduction caused by switching become negligible and the full rated burn life of the tube can be realised. The savings in maintenance are therefore considerable and very quickly exceed the small additional initial cost added to the luminaire.

Luminaires fitted with electronic start will also operate at lower temperatures - in some cases down to as low as -35°C. Electronic starters also improve the time taken to ignite the lamp. By supplying one positive pulse, the lamp is ignited in less than 3 seconds from switching. The delay can vary with lamp size and type of starter.

Special information for luminaires with dimming (regulating) capability

CATHODE HEATED DIMMING (D)

This method of dimming operates the T12 (38mm) lamps only, up to and including 65 watt. It preheats the cathode on the lamp.

These units will allow the lamps to dim to approximately 15% of their normal output, however the dimming facilitated is not a smooth curve and is not suitable for applications where a smooth transition is required.

Load resistors maybe required to some types in accordance with the dimming control manufacturers recommendations.

ELECTRONIC ANALOGUE DIMMING (ED)

This method of dimming operates the T8 (26mm) lamps only, up to and including 70 watt.

Analogue 1-10v dimming controls the lamp output by varying a voltage between 1 and 10v as a control signal to the ballast.

These units will allow the lamps to dim to approximately 10% of their normal output, however the dimming facilitated is not a perfectly smooth curve.

This system was very popular during the 80's and 90's but due to the Digital Revolution and associated cost reductions, it is quickly becoming outdated.

Luminaires with suffix 'ED' (electronic analogue (1-10v) dimming ballast) are suitable for use with 26mm T8 lamps, though some manufacturers 18w lamps may show difficulty in striking when new. Replacing lamps of a different manufacture may rectify the problem. The ballasts are of a regulating type, not mains dimming, phase cutting. These units will dim to approximately 10% of normal light output. Load resistors are NOT fitted, they may be necessary depending on installation (see note 4). Installations with cable runs, (switch to furthest fitting) of more than 5m, will require use of MTA 50 signal amplifier.

SWITCHDIM (SD)

This method of dimming operates the T8 (26mm), T5 (16mm) and Compact Fluorescent lamps up to and including 58 watt.

This system will allow the lamps to dim to 3% of their normal output.

This system offers simple lighting control without the need for a potentiometer, dimmer, slider-switch or a separate control input.

It is possible to offer multi-point control as standard as the push to make switch holds no memory, this is all stored within the ballast.

There is a maximum of 15 ballasts that can be controlled from any push to make switch (85M/W).

Very long cable runs can be used although control generally will be limited to a single circuit phase.

When the push to make switch is held the SD ballast will always initially dim down from this point.

The push to make switch will then toggle each time it is held between dim up and dim down.

When the luminaires are turned off from the light switch the next time they are switched back on they will be at the same level at which they were switched off.

When the ballast powers up after a full mains failure (reset of the permanent supply), it will always restart at 100%.

Commercially speaking, this type of dimming is in-line with the "old" Analogue system as far as pricing is concerned.

DIGITAL DIMMING (DTD)

This method of dimming operates the T8 (26mm), T5 (16mm) and Compact Fluorescent lamps up to and including 58 watt.

The DTD ballasts work in the same way as SD but they have several additional attributes as follows:-

This system will allow the lamps to dim to 1% of their normal output which makes the system ideal for applications including daylight management as well as dimming for effect or for comfort.

When the ballast powers up after a full mains failure (reset of the permanent supply) it will always restart at the light level that was set prior to power failure.

This requires a DSI (Digital Serial Interface) to facilitate the control. This can either be mounted in a master fitting and then slaved to individual luminaires or in a din rail located remotely at a distribution board or at some other convenient location.

A different DSI is required for each method of dimming control, whether that be infrared, daylight management or presence detection.

DIGITAL ADDRESSABLE LIGHTING INTERFACE (DALI)

Today's lighting technology is not more than pure illumination of a room. Aspects such as comfort, ambience, functionality and saving of energy become more and more important. These are difficult to achieve with traditional electrical and lighting installations with analogue interface (1-10V control), because you have to plan and install a lot of cables. Furthermore, such an installation is somewhat inflexible regarding retrospective changes and it does not facilitate the control of individual fittings.

For these reasons, the lighting industry has developed a new standard for digital communication between installations: the "DIGITAL ADDRESSABLE LIGHTING INTERFACE", abbreviated to DALI for short.

N.B. Luminaires utilising dimming are not recommended for use in areas of high ambient temperature. Also it is not recommended that luminaires fitted with dimming facilities be operated at 100% light output continuously for long periods.

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