Energy-recyclable burn-in technology for electronic ballasts

Eco-friendly electronic products can help save the environment by using less electricity. However, saving energy is not only about reducing the electricity consumption of a product; it should also encompass the electricity consumed in the production of the product. After a product is assembled, it has to go through a burn-in process for weeding out infant mortalities and thus improving the product reliability. The use of energy recycling in the burn-in process is popular nowadays in the power supply industry. However, the development of energy-recyclable burn-in system for electronic ballast manufacturing is less impressive. Existing burn-in process for electronic ballasts is conducted by connecting lamps or resistors at their output. All electrical energy is converted into heat and light. Not only does this method waste electricity, it also raises room temperatures in the factory, requiring additional ventilation systems to release the excessive heat. This paper presents an energy-recyclable burn-in technology for electronic ballast. It can emulate the lamp characteristics from start up to the steady state, process high-frequency ballast output power, and recycle the power back into the grid. An experimental 400-W prototype for high-pressure sodium electronic ballast has been built and evaluated. © 2011 IEEE.