A novel dimmable self-oscillating electronic ballast

Self-oscillating electronic ballast (SOEB) topologies have many advantages for driving fluorescent lamps. They are simple, reliable and low cost. This paper proposes a new topology to make a dimmable SOEB. The proposed circuit requires only few additional components from the conventional SOEB. In addition, the dimming command is compatible with the industrial lighting dimming command standard (0-10 V). The proposed SOEB also has the electrical isolation between dimming command circuit and ballast power circuit for safety purposes. The proposed SOEB prototype for a T8 36 W fluorescent lamp has been designed, implemented, and tested. The experimental results satisfactorily show the successful implementation of the proposed SOEB.