Fluorescent lamp or tube lamp (TL) has good efficiency. This high efficiency feature make it suitable for battery operated lighting application. To drive the tube lamp, we need high voltage to make the gas inside the tube get ionized. Here is the schematic diagram of the fluorescent lamp circuit:
To trigger the ionizing process, we need high voltage as high as 200V or more. After the gas become ionized, the voltage will drops to about 40 volts. In the ionized state, the tube act like a short circuit if the voltage is higher than 40 volts. Large current will flow inside the tube lamp, and this make the voltage drops since the transformer has internal resistance. We can say the tube lamp works like a zener diode (but bidirectional), stabilize the voltage around its working voltage. You must provide enough heat sink for TR1 transistor. You can use a standard 12V-230V step down transformer for this circuit, although we use it as a step-up transformer. The 555 oscillator frequency can be adjusted to get the brightest fluorescent lamp luminance.
Possibly Related Articles:
- Switchstart Ballast Circuit for Fluorescent Tube Lamp
Simplicity, low cost and improved efficiency when compared with the alternative options are the reasons why the switchstart circuit has been widely adopted. Moreover, the 230V mains voltage is sufficiently... - IR2156 Electronic Ballast for CFL (Compact Fluorescent Lamp)
This is Electronic Ballast for CFL (Compact Fluorescent Lamp) circuit using IR2156. The IR2156 contains a high voltage half-bridge gate driver with a state diagram and programmable oscillator to make... - Black Light (UV Tube Lamp) Inverter
The voltage boosting in this circuit enable its operation to be powered by 2.5 V rechargeable battery (two cells 1.2V rechargeable batteries), supplying 400 mA current at 26 V which... - 10-20V Regulated LED Lamp
Resistor and LM317L act as a current regulator set to 40 ma. Current will flow from the battery through one pair of LEDs, and then to the regulator, through the... - Sound-Activated Lamp (Relay/Switch)
This simple circuit shown int the schematic diagram actives the switch using sound. We can use this circuit for various applications, such as automatic (sound-controlled) disco light or car’s LED... - Audio-Controlled Incandescent Lamp Light Controller
This is a audio-controlled lamp circuit. This circuit requires low voltage input such as pre-amplifiers, tone control, or general audio line level output. It’s also possible to feed the input... - Solar-Powered Garden Lamp with Light Sensor
Below is reverse engineered circuit diagram of yet another commercially produced solar garden lamp. To turn the light on at night, this depends upon a CDS photocell. It allows the... - Strobo Disco Light Using Standard Tube Lamp (TL)
Using a standard fluorescent tube lamp (TL), you can make your own disco light, similar to a stroboscope light. You can even use a half-broken lamp, which one side of... - Light Ignition Circuit
This is a circuit of light ignition circuit. This circuit uses the LIC01 which is designed for high voltage pulse generation circuits. This circuit can be used in many application... - Lamp Dimmer using 555IC PWM – Video Tutorial
This video is a tutorial of lamp dimmer using PWM. This video shows the use of PWM for lamp dimmer. In this video, the PWM kit uses a 555 IC.... - Wien-Bridge Oscillator Using Incandescent lamp Stabilizer
Incandescent lamp has been used to reduce harmonic distortion in sine oscillator circuit. The nonlinear resistance characteristic of the lamp filament help the circuit to shape the signal to approximate... - Dimmer Circuit
Light dimmer circuit is used to control the lamp for arbitrary brightness. This dimmer circuit work for incandescent lamp, not a fluorescent one. The dimmer circuit here work for both...
| 
