ATI Dimmable Sunpower ramping question

[Bobblehead]

Apologize if this is a dumb question but I was wondering if there could be any negative long term effects with using a long ramp up and down with these fixtures. Do ballasts have to work harder when they’re ramping or when they’re slammed with 100% on and off? Thx!

 

[A. grandis]

I would think it's harder on the bulbs than the ballast itself.
The ballasts are made to ramp, not necessarily the bulbs.
The less you ramp the bulbs the better for their life/efficiency.
Not a big deal in most cases, but technically that is what we normally learn.
You can ramp like 5 to 10 minutes from 0 to 100% to start the bulbs, and then again 5 to 10 minutes from 100% to 0 to turn them off, for example. That is what I used to do when I had my dimmable ATI. I prefer to run 100% ON/OFF.

 

[Midrats]

I thought the reduced bulb life with dimming myth was debunked long ago? @ATI North America

 

[Bobblehead]

I thought the reduced bulb life with dimming myth was debunked long ago? @ATI North America

Actually I was referring more to the ballast or overall fixture longevity. Even if true, I can deal with tubes not lasting as long but would rather not have to replace ballasts during what I would consider a reasonable lifetime for a light fixture.

 

[A. grandis]

I thought the reduced bulb life with dimming myth was debunked long ago? @ATI North America

I missed that, or don't remember, if so. Any links, please?

 

[A. grandis]

Actually I was referring more to the ballast or overall fixture longevity. Even if true, I can deal with tubes not lasting as long but would rather not have to replace ballasts during what I would consider a reasonable lifetime for a light fixture.

The dimmable ballasts are designed to do that and they will last it's normal course. Ballasts are more dependent on working temperature more than anything else, as far as I know. Checking periodically if the fans of the fixture are working properly is what we should do. Every time I lost a ballast in my entire life was because the fans had stopped working first. Love ATI fixtures! I prefer non- dimmable Sunpower. When I had the dimmables I ramped the bulbs as I wanted and never had problems in that regard, changing the bulbs every 12 months, no problem.

 

[Midrats]

I don't have any links for you but in my pre-purchase research I found the topic discussed many times, and the consensus was that dimming has no effect on the bulbs or ballasts.

 

[A. grandis]

I don't have any links for you but in my pre-purchase research I found the topic discussed many times, and the consensus was that dimming has no effect on the bulbs or ballasts.

Thanks for the info. I don't remember seeing that. I forget things very easily too, so.. If anyone have links, please post.
I used my bulbs in a dimmable in the past for 12 months and didn't have any problems with the bulbs, but the daily dimming period wasn't too long.
Thanks.

 

[Midrats]

Thanks for the info. I don't remember seeing that. I forget things very easily too, so.. If anyone have links, please post.
I used my bulbs in a dimmable in the past for 12 months and didn't have any problems with the bulbs, but the daily dimming period wasn't too long.
Thanks.

Maybe @ATI North America will put this to bed for us once and for all. Glad to hear you had a positive experience with the dimmable unit. I'm happy I made the switch. The evenness of spectrum and the blanket of light it puts out is amazing.

 

[A. grandis]

Maybe @ATI North America will put this to bed for us once and for all. Glad to hear you had a positive experience with the dimmable unit. I'm happy I made the switch. The evenness of spectrum and the blanket of light it puts out is amazing.

I have ATI T5 fixtures for so many years! Love them!
My only problem with the dimmable fixtures is that we have many power outages here where I live and when the electricity come back the fixture's time needed to be reprogrammed and for so many times I had to do that... Just got tired. I think it's totally unnecessary to dim at all, but it is a nice feature. With the regular Sunpower fixtures I don't have the problem, so for that reason I like them better. Besides, the simpler the easier to run and fix.
One can run a egula Sunpower for 10+ years without any issues! So good it is!
Only maintenance is to clean the shield here and there and keep the fans dust free, besides changing the bulbs once a year.

 

[Bobblehead]

Thanks everyone for the input. I feel better about using them the way I am and now just hope my tank makes a comeback.