Overdriven fluorescent light

Overdriving a fluorescent lamp is a method of getting more light from each tube than is normally obtained. It involves taking the light fixture apart and rewiring the insides. Only electronic ballasts can be used for this; magnetic ballasts will self-destruct. Each electronic ballast normally drives either two or four tubes. The ballasts are tied together in such a way that a normal two-tube ballast drives a single tube; a four-tube ballast drives either one or two tubes. This re-wiring increases the amount of current that each tube can draw, resulting in increased light output. The increase is not linear with the current draw: if the current is doubled, the light increases by a factor of 1.7, while a four-fold increase in current only increases the light output by 2.4 times, as the tube is operating far out of the design parameters.

Usually, extra ballasts are put into the fixture and wired to the sockets the original ballast is no longer powering. For instance, a four-tube fixture with a ballast re-wired to drive two tubes will have a second ballast similarly wired to drive the other two sockets.

Overdriving a fluorescent tube increases the amount of heat produced. Fixtures not designed to handle the additional heat can melt or catch fire.

Overdriven fluorescent light bulbs are generally used when there isn’t enough room to put in more bulbs to increase the light.

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