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Ignitors for generating the ignition voltages needed by metal halide lamps and sodium lamps without internal starters use either superimposed-pulse or pulse technology. The innovative range of ignitors from TridonicAtco includes standard ignitors suitable for all commercially available high-pressure discharge lamps with wattages from 35 W to 3,500 W, which require an ignition voltage between 800 V and 5,000 V depending on the type of lamp.
The special feature of superimposed-pulse ignitors is that the ignition voltage is generated without placing a high-voltage load on the choke. Superimposed-pulse technology leads to a reproducible ignition response which does not depend on the control gear used and is unaffected by voltage fluctuations.
Pulse ignitors are operated with chokes tailored specifically for them. Integrated shutdown of defective lamps reduces the load on the ballasts to a minimum. Restart attempts in pulse-pause mode reduce the load on the chokes still further.
TridonicAtco ignitors ensure lamps start reliably even if the mains voltage is as low as 198 V (switch-on voltage). The ignitor is switched off as soon as the lamp starts to prevent damage to the lamp. Because of the high-quality narrow-tolerance components the switch-off voltage reaches the high value of 185 V.
The increase in temperature in the ignitor determines its area of application and is therefore an important criterion. TridonicAtco ignitors are characterised by minimal self-heating, which in turn gives luminaire designers extra creative freedom.
Superimposed-pulse ignitors
In ignitors that operate on the superimposed principle the ignition voltage is generated by an integrated pulse transformer. This transforms the mains voltage to the ignition voltage of up to 5 kV required by the lamp. A cleverly designed circuit is used to control the ignition process. This means that superimposed-pulse ignitors from TridonicAtco have high system reliability and reproducibility of the ignition pulses, which are largely unaffected by fluctuations in the mains voltage.
Superimposed-pulse ignitors with timers
Sodium lamps and metal halide lamps connected to conventional ignitors begin to flicker at the end of their lives. This is avoided by ZRM ES/CT superimposed-pulse ignitors with integrated digital timers and pulse-pause ignition.
The ZRM ES/CT ignitor does not generate ignition pulses constantly but in a patented two-part rhythm, creating the optimum conditions for igniting the lamps. The lamp has time to cool down in the pauses after ignition. This leads to
much faster restarts for hot lamps. Thanks to pulse-pause ignition the system downtime is reduced considerably.
The μ-chip of the integrated timer in the superimposed-pulse ignitor digitally controls the logic for ignition and automatic shutdown. An automatic reset function is also integrated. This reset function is needed for lighting systems that operate 24 hours a day (tunnels, factories).
Ignitor systems using pulse technology
In pulse ignitors the high-voltage pulse is produced in conjunction with the ballast. The ignitor uses a separate tap on the ballast, specially developed for pulse technology and designed for high ignition voltages. As the high-voltage pulse is generated in the ballast for the ignition process it is possible to achieve very high ignition energy.
The digital ZRM powerPULSE from TridonicAtco compensates for the dependence of the output voltage on the mains voltage by using a microprocessor in the ignitor to control the production of the ignition pulse. This ensures that the ballast and luminaire wiring are not overloaded if there is a mains overvoltage. It also ensures that in the event of a mains undervoltage or if there are extremely long connecting cables the required ignition energy is constantly available.
The benefits of pulse/pause technology are evident in the ZRM powerPULSE ignitor as this ignitor reduces the restart time
and EMC interference in the ignition phase.
Another feature is the integrated digital three-start counter. This stops the ignition process after three unsuccessful lamp starts to suppress lamp cycling when the lamp comes to the end of its life and avoid overloading the control gear with the high-voltage pulses.
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