Switching Ballasts Lead to Efficiency

Staff -- Consulting-Specifying Engineer, 12/1/2000

When corporate officials at Standard Electric Company, Saginaw, Mich., decided to build a new headquarters, they placed an emphasis on energy efficiency. As an electrical distributor with 16 branches throughout Michigan, the leaders of this 70-year-old company wanted a facility that exemplified the efficiency and abilities that they provided to their clients.

A large part of this mission was carried out through the lighting system in the new 72,000-square-foot facility. The decision was made to incorporate fluorescent lamps controlled by approximately 200 energy-efficient light-level-switching electronic ballasts.

"Our electrical rate runs 10 to 12 cents per kWh and this site operates 6:30 a.m. to 1:30 a.m., five-and-a-half days a week," says Stan Weber, president of Standard. "We needed a lighting system that was energy efficient, and that is why we chose light-level switching ballasts to control our office lighting."

Serving the first-floor regional sales offices and the second-floor corporate headquarters, these ballasts allow the light level to be switched between 30, 60 and 100 percent with the use of two regular wall switches. The system is connected and controlled in the same manner that inboard/outboard fixtures are wired, but rather than having lamps turn off to reduce light levels, all of the lamps dim evenly. This method provides uniform light levels by eliminating dark lamps and cells in the fixtures.

The ballasts themselves feature a total harmonic distortion of less than 10 percent and a high power factor across the full dimming range, making the new headquarters a model of energy and environmental efficiency

For more information on Ballastar ballasts by MagneTek, circle 103 on the Reader Service Card.