MicroStart™

Metrolight’s patented, soft ignition method reduces wall blackening, increases brightness by up to 40% and significantly extends lamp life. 

Magnetic ballasts have a stressful ignition process:

• Glow discharge and intensive ion bombardment caused by process severely overheat the electrodes
• Tungsten and other electrode materials are splattered on the internal bulb walls of the arc chamber
• Bulb wall transparency is reduced creating cavities
• Result - Arc chamber wall blackening and lumen degradation, which dramatically reduces light output and significantly shortens lamp life.

Metrolight’s MicroStart™ ignition:

• Generates a nanosecond-narrow train of high-frequency bursts
• Enables lamp to be ignited almost immediately
• Does not require high repetition rate of pulses
• Requires very little energy to be discharged in the electrodes due to high-frequency controlled waveforms
• Ensures that energy flow into lamp is immediately stopped when ignition is detected by microprocessor
• Allows the ballast to revert to current-mode control ensuring lamp power – handling capability is not exceeded

Unlike magnetic or conventional electronic ballasts that push excessive ignition current that damages lamp electrodes, Metrolight MicroStart™ microprocessor-controlled ignition provides the exact amount of energy needed to ignite the lamp. This “soft” ignition method, together with optimized, high-frequency operation keeps the lamp in excellent condition.