One of the more recent lighting advances has been the use of electronic ballasts to reduce energy costs while maintaining the light that we're all used to.  It took quite a few years of research and some trial and error before manufacturers like Universal got it right, but they finally did.  There were several issues to overcome, but the most important were starting the lamp in cold temperatures and maintaining a high light output as well.  This is no small thing when it comes to high output electronic ballasts.  Electronic components sometimes don't operate well in temperature extremes.  So the ballast is critical in this system and getting it to work right took some time.  The development came into what are called generally high output electronic ballasts.  These have the ability to start the lamp at a lower starting temperature than standard ballasts and creating a higher lumen output too.  The typical applications are outdoor lighting, sign lighting and coolers and freezers which need a lot of light maintained regardless of the cold temperature.  They're are used as a replacement for the old style magnetic type that wasted energy.  In fact, many electric utilities have offered rebates on these over the years making it easier for people to switch to more efficient lighting systems.  The most common type of lamps are still the T12/HO, but there are also T8 and T5 HO choices in today's market.  One of the ways that these are abbreviated is with the two letters HO.  If you ever see HO as part of the code number, you will know that they are high output fluorescent light bulbs.  You will find these in almost any length as they have many different lighting applications so they can be as little as 2 feet long and as much as 10 feet in some special cases.

As mentioned before, these fluorescent bulbs rely on particular ballasts in the fixtures for proper operation. In the past, the magnetic ballasts for the HO lamps were usually much larger than the standard types, and put out a lot more heat.  Those ballasts are very heavy too!  Some of that is changing when it comes to electronic ballasts as they have a size that is almost the same as the standard electronic ballast.  They are also much lighter, really no heavier than standard electronic ballasts.  Remember that the ballast is important because it is specific for each type of lamp.  You can't change from one type of fluorescent to another without changing the ballast in most cases.  Most of the time the ballast and the lamp are matched electrically and so it's good to make sure the ballast you have is the right one for the lamp you choose.  In the case of high output electronic ballasts, you will find that many of these will operate various lengths within a certain range.  Such as the 8 foot and 6 foot lamps sometimes use the same HO ballast.  Almost every manufacturer makes high output fluorescent ballasts, among them are Universal ballasts and many others.

Keep in mind that there are many choices for high output electronic ballasts, which include lamp length, voltage, wattage and some of the general characteristics here.  We have a large inventory of electronic ballasts for nearly every type of light fixture in the field.  It's never a problem to get what you need since Universal is our preferred brand of this type of lighting.  If you need help identifying a ballast, our customer service representatives can help you determine which one it is by the code number on the label.  We have extensive cross references which will tell us exactly what you have, no problem!