Philips Electromagnetic Lamp manual 2 3 Lifetime, Components, Electronic starters, Systems

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2.2 Starter types

2 Electronic starters

In principle the electronic starter or ignitor is working in the same manner as the glow-switch starter. But now the switching does not come from bi-metallic electrodes, but from a triac.

The electronic circuit in the starter gives a well-defined preheat time (1.7 sec) for the lamp electrodes and, after the preheat, a well-defined peak voltage, which ensures optimum lamp ignition.The heart of the electronic starter is a customized integrated circuit, containing the intelligence of the product. It makes the starter switch off after seven unsuccessful ignition attempts, so it is called ‘flicker free’.

The electronic starter also contains an over-heating detection by means of a PTC resistor, to switch off in case the starter becomes too hot (e.g. with a short-circuited ballast).This second stop function resets after approx. 4 minutes.

The electronic starter extends the lamp lifetime up to 25 per cent on account of the well-defined preheat time.The exact digital timing makes the electronic starter independent of mains voltage fluctuations.

In the Philips programme there are two types of electronic starters: one in the canister of the glow-switch starters (two-pin types S2-E and S10-E Perform version), and one in a plastic housing (four-pin type ES08).

2 3 Lifetime

The lifetime of fluorescent lamp starters is expressed in the number of switches.

At present the glow-switch starters have a lifetime of 10 000 switches or more, while the electronic starters have a lifetime of 100 000 switches or more.

SYSTEMS	3
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3	1	Components

A customer primarily needs a solution to his lighting requirements. Basically, he needs two things to obtain an installation which completely fulfils his specifications: a design and components.To make sure that the installation works properly under all circumstances, the right components must be chosen and selected in combination with each other.

In principle the following components are required in a lighting installation:

-lamps,

-lampholders,

-luminaires,

-gear (ballasts, starters),

-compensating capacitors,

-cabling,

-fusing and switching devices,

-filter coils (if necessary),

-dimming equipment (if possible and required).

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