When it comes time to overhaul lighting systems or build them anew, many people are surprised to learn that they have to make decisions about a piece of technology they never see called a lighting ballast. Because incandescent bulbs can be directly wired into electrical systems, it comes as a surprise that gas bulbs require an additional component – the ballast – to regulate the voltage. The extra cost is no reason for despair – it is quickly recouped. Quite simply, the ballast regulates voltage. Since most fluorescent bulbs are luminescent at lower voltage than incandescent bulbs, they require a constant flow of lower voltage electricity. And whereas electricity in an incandescent bulb is converted into heat and ultimately light in the filament, fluorescent bulbs would (theoretically) explode if overheated or overpowered.

Ballasts come in two main types: electromagnetic and electric. Older electromagnetic ballasts use coils as a way to regulate current, in effect providing a pathway through which a current’s voltage can be regulated. They were the norm for a long time in fluorescent lighting applications, to many an office or factory worker’s or student’s chagrin. Because electromagnetic ballasts only regulate voltage and do not also regulate frequency, bulbs connected to the ballast receive current at the frequency of the half-cycle of the source of power. This inability to regulate frequency causes that familiar flickering that so many users of fluorescent lighting have come to loathe.

In contrast, a lighting ballast that employes solid-state (circuit) technology – known as an electronic ballast – can control both voltage and frequency. This has a few important consequences. First, because circuitry is used instead of coils, the ballast itself runs cooler and less current is lost in the form of heat,  which makes it more efficient. Second, and most important to everyday users of fluorescent lighting, is that because the electronic type have the ability to regulate frequency in addition to voltage, an optimal power output is achieved that reduces or eliminates fluorescent lights’ flickering, making them more aesthetically pleasing and arguably more functional as well, when we consider the psychological impact that subtly flickering white light can have in a a drab office, school, or commercial environment.

For those in a position to replace or install ballasts, the electronic variety is – for most – worth the slightly additional cost. Just be sure that it can handle the application: lighting designed to create heat or massive warehouse-style lighting may require an electromagnetic ballast.