Influence of voltage and frequency dimming on power losses in HF electronic ballasts for compact fluorescent lamps

Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFL) incorporating electronic ballasts are widely used in lighting. In many cases the ability to dim the lamp is a requirement Dimming can be achieved by varying the voltage supplied to the inverter or by changing the switching frequency of the inverter. The effect of dimming by both approaches on the power losses in the inverter is studied in this work. The lamp and associated inverter has been modeled in PSPICE, using a behavioral model for the CFL. Predicted losses are in good agreement with experimental data obtained from calorimetry. The model was then used to determine the distribution of losses within the inverter, enabling a comparison of the effects of the two dimming methods to be made. © 2006 IEEE.

Losses in inductor-less piezoelectric transformer ballast for compact fluorescent lamps

In this study an inductor-less piezoelectric transformer (PT) based ballast for a 5 W CFL has been designed and simulated. The predictions of circuit currents and losses closely match experimentally measured values. The total simulated loss figure was confirmed against practically determined losses using a precision mini-calorimeter. Using simulation to disaggregate the total loss figure, it is seen that the PT makes the largest contribution to the total losses in such ballast.

Losses in self-oscillating ballasts for electrode-type compact fluorescent lamps

Commercially available integrated compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) use self-resonant ballasts on grounds of simplicity and cost. To understand how to improve ballast efficiency, it is necessary to quantify the losses. The losses occurring in these ballasts have been directly measured using a precision mini-calorimeter. In addition, a Pspice model has been used to simulate the performance of an 18 W integrated CFL. The lamp has been represented by a behavioural model and Jiles-Atherton equations were used to model the current transformer core. The total loss is in close agreement with measurements from the mini-calorimeter, confirming the accuracy of the model. The total loss was then disaggregated into component losses by simulation, showing that the output inductor is the primary source of loss, followed by the inverter switches. © 2011 The Institution of Engineering and Technology.