Compact Fluorescent Plug-In Ballast-in-a-Socket

Final Report
Compact Fluorescent Plug-In Ballast-in-a-Socket
DOE Cooperative Agreement No. DE-FC26-99FT40630
NETL Project Manager: Ed Christy

Period Covered: December 22, 1999 - December 21, 2001
Submitted for General Electric by:
Rebecca Sullivan Voelker
GE Research and Development Center
E-Mail: voelkere@crd.ge.com
THE FULL PAPER IS HERE:
http://www.4shared.com/document/lsxc1q1i/ballastUSA.html

Executive Summary
The primary goal of this program was to develop a ballast system for plug-in CFLs (compact fluorescent
lamps) that will directly replace standard metal shell, medium base incandescent lampholders (such as
Levition # 6098) for use with portable lamp fixtures, such as floor, table and desk lamps. A secondary
goal was to identify a plug-in CFL that is optimized for use with this ballast. This Plug-in CFL Ballastin-
a- Socket system will allow fixture manufacturers to easily manufacture CFL-based high-efficacy
portable fixtures that provide residential and commercial consumers with attractive, cost-effective, and
energy-efficient fixtures for use wherever portable incandescent fixtures are used today. The advantages
of this proposed system over existing CFL solutions are that the fixtures can only be used with highefficacy
CFLs, and they will be more attractive and will have lower life-cycle costs than screw-in or
adapter-based CFL retrofit solutions. These features should greatly increase the penetration of CFL’s into the North American market.