A microcontroller-based emergency ballast for fluorescent lamps

This paper presents a new emergency ballast for fluorescent lamps. The fundamental block is the microcontroller-based control circuit, which performs the supervision and control function. High-frequency electronics techniques are proposed for the high power factor battery charger and the lamp driver, which provides high luminous efficacy. In this way, size and weight have been minimized for the whole system. With the introduction of the microcontroller, the system has the capability of testing itself, checking its functional state, and displaying internal faults. Thus, the reliability of the system is improved and, concurrently, maintenance cost is decreased.