PaulErik
Premium Member
The purpose of the capacitor will depend on the ballast circuit type. In every ballast circuit type it is used for power factor correction.
Some HPS, MH and MV ballasts will run fine without a capacitor. In a HX (high reactance) or R (Reactor) ballast circuit the capacitor only does power factor correction. Without a capacitor the lamp will still operate the same but the power factor will be low. A CWA (constant wattage autotransformer) ballast circuit the capacitor is required for the lamp to operate properly.
Any discharge lamp will draw as much power as it can until it fails. This is why a ballast is needed. The ballasts secondary coil limits most of the current in a CWA ballast circuit but the capacitor is used along with the ballast to limit current.
Some HPS, MH and MV ballasts will run fine without a capacitor. In a HX (high reactance) or R (Reactor) ballast circuit the capacitor only does power factor correction. Without a capacitor the lamp will still operate the same but the power factor will be low. A CWA (constant wattage autotransformer) ballast circuit the capacitor is required for the lamp to operate properly.
Any discharge lamp will draw as much power as it can until it fails. This is why a ballast is needed. The ballasts secondary coil limits most of the current in a CWA ballast circuit but the capacitor is used along with the ballast to limit current.
