35 watt hps?

zarf

Active Member
i'm thinking of adding a small 35 watt hps to my aerogarden...i remember seeing a pic of this done on here somewhere(wish that search feature worked)...

anyway would i need any special ballast or something for it?...since it's such a small light could i just use a regular socket?
 

CuriousSoul

Well-Known Member
I'm afraid it does require a ballast. You'll be better off buying that $20 150w HPS, the link for which is floating around somewhere.

Ballasts are used where a load does not regulate its own current consumption well enough. These are most often used when an electrical circuit or device presents a negative (differential) resistance to the supply. If such a device were connected to a constant-voltage power supply, it would draw an increasing amount of current until it was destroyed or caused the power supply to fail. To prevent this, a ballast provides a positive resistance or reactance that limits the ultimate current to an appropriate level. In this way, the ballast provides for the proper operation of the negative-resistance device by appearing to be a legitimate, stable resistance in the circuit.

Happy growing!
 
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