BLUE ISLAND, ILL.—Robertson now offers a line of Instant Start T8 ballasts that comply with and are listed under the UL Type CC requirements. The fundamental Type CC requirement prescribes that the ballast not sustain an arc at the lamp socket if the connection to the lamp pin is loose or intermittent. Conventional T8 instant start ballasts do not have this type of protection and therefore limit a fixture designer’s ability to meet UL Luminaire standards for linear fluorescent fixtures without the use of expensive Type I sockets.
Retrofitters who want to incorporate this latest safety technology while upgrading to NEMA Premium efficiency standards will find this to be the most cost effective approach. Rapid Start and Program Start ballasts inherently meet this requirement, and so are Type CC rated. By designing the anti-arcing feature into the Instant Start ballasts and making it available on a wide range of Instant Start models, Robertson has provided fixture manufacturers and retrofitters a cost effective Instant Start option.
Robertson offers 11 Arc Defense T8 Instant Start models with the anti-arcing feature, including 1, 2, 3 and 4 lamp in low and normal ballast factor, as well as 1, 2 & 3 lamp in high ballast factor. All 11 models have multi-volt (120-277) inputs. They are also all High Efficiency designs that comply with NEMA Premium and CEE efficiency standards.
The Robertson design incorporates arc suppression circuitry that limits the amount of energy delivered to any lamp socket with a loose or intermittent connection to an extremely low level that complies with the UL requirements. Separate arc suppression circuits are included for each of the separate outputs of a multi-lamp ballast, such that normal operation will be maintained for other lamps being operated by the ballast when one lamp has a poor connection. This is ideal for maintenance situations as well as critical locations where safety is an issue. If a proper lamp connection is restored at any time after the arc suppression circuitry has been activated, that lamp will immediately and automatically return to normal operation.
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