Purpose Of Capacitor In Fluorescent Lamp

A familiar and widely used example is the inductive ballast used in fluorescent lamps to limit the current through the tube which would otherwise rise to a destructive level due to the negative differential resistance of the tube s voltage current characteristic.

Purpose of capacitor in fluorescent lamp.

The ultraviolet light makes particles that coat the inside of the tube and these particles glow or fluoresce see how fluorescent lamps work for details. A capacitor is used to improve the power factor of the lamp more detailsto prevent the lamp from taking too much current a fluorescent lamp has to have a choke which has magnetic inductance. Question is the function of capacitor across the supply to the fluorescent tube is primari ly to options are a stabilize the arc b reduce the starting current c improve the supply power factor d reduce the noise e leave your comments or download question paper. The process that occurs inside a fluorescent light involves molecules of mercury gas being heated by electricity and made more conductive.

A fluorescent light does not have the usual glowing filament of an incandescent bulb but instead contains a mercury vapor that gives off ultraviolet light when ionized. The capacitor is in most common fluorescent lamp circuits is for power factor correction. Since there is a coil in the ballast the capacitor is used to bring the power factor back towards unity. Probably not such a big deal when you consider individual lamps in homes but when you start looking at hundreds or thousands aggregate of homes or.

As a result large installations of such lamps suffer a poor power factor and resultant voltage drop. Adding a capacitor to each lamp corrects the power factor bringing it back close to unity 1 0. Fluorescent starters are used in several types of fluorescent lights. Illumination types of lamps.