What is a Digital Ballast

What is a Digital Ballast

What is a Digital Ballast

Digital, or electronic, ballasts are relatively new to the indoor growing scene. Their counterpart, magnetic ballasts, use technology that has been around for more than 100 years! More and more people are switching to the new and improved electronic ballasts to take advantage of the gains in efficiency. Some tests have shown that digital ballasts are as much as 30% brighter than some magnetic ballasts. Digital ballasts also use energy much more efficiently meaning that more lumens are produced per watt of energy consumed.

Digital ballasts do not have the typical transformers, capacitors, or igniters. These are some of the components that make mechanical ballasts so much bigger and louder than digital ballasts. Instead, digital ballasts use electronic circuitry to accomplish the same thing as these other components but more efficiently, quieter, and by using less energy. One thing that surprises many people is that these mechanical ballasts use more energy than what the ballast is rated for. For example, a 600 w mechanical ballast can use up to 800 w of energy to light that 600 w bulb! The inefficiencies of the mechanical ballasts also send energy to the bulb in a way that shortens the bulbs life, where as a digital ballast sends a constant flow of energy, allowing the grower to get maximum potential lifetime out of the bulb. After one year of use the plant usable light coming from bulbs that are run on digital ballasts has decreased only by 20-25% where as the same bulb being used in the coil type ballast would have lost 50-60% of its plant usable light over the same period of time.

Digital ballasts also allow the grower to run both MH and HPS bulbs through the same ballast without having to change anything. Digital ballasts are able to recognize each type of bulb and make the needed changes automatically to ensure the system will work properly. No more switches or additional ballasts when growing in the two different phases!

If you are interested in finding more information out about digital ballasts or any other hydroponics system, please visit our store by clicking here: Digital Ballast

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