ADA - American with Disabilities Act. The Act states all walkways, corridors, and halls must have 80" of clear head room. All objects mounted on walls that are between 27" - 80" high, should not project more than 4" in to the hallway.
AVERAGE RATED LIFE - The median time it takes for a lamp to burn out.
COLOR RENDERING INDEX (CRI) - International system used to rate a lamp's ability to render object color. The higher the CRI (based upon 1 - 100 Scale), the better colors appear.
COLOR TEMPERATURE - Color Temperature is directly related to the physical temperature of the filament in incandescent lamps. A higher color temperature (K) describes a visually cooler, bluer light source. Typical color temperatures are 2700(K) (Incandescent of the GE SPX27 Fluorescent), 3000(K) (Halogen or the GE SPX30 Fluorescent ), 3500(K) (GE SPX35 Fluorescent), 4100(K) (Cool White or the GE SPX41 Fluorescent), and 5000(K) (Daylight- Simulating Fluorescent colors such as GE SPX50).
COMPACT FLUORESCENT LAMP (CFL) - The general term applied to families of smaller diameter fluorescent lamps, some of which have built-in ballasts and medium screw bases (Retrofit Lamps). These fluorescents are referred to as PL, FL, or CF by the major lamp manufacturers.
HALOGEN LAMP - A shortened name for the tungsten-halogen lamp. Halogen lamps are high pressure incandescent lamps containing halogen gases such as iodine or bromine which allow the filaments to be operated at higher temperatures and higher efficiencies.
ELECTRONIC BALLAST - A shortened name for a fluorescent high frequency electronic ballast. Electronic ballasts use solid state electronic components and typically operate fluorescent lamps at frequencies in the range of 50/60 kHz. The benefits are: increased lamp efficiency, reduced ballast losses, and lighter, smaller ballasts compared to electromagnetic ballasts.
INSTANT START BALLAST - A type of fluorescent ballast circuit. Designed to start fluorescent lamps as soon as the power is applied. Instant Start Ballasts decrease lamp life in frequently switched situations .
PROGRAMMED START BALLAST - A type of fluorescent ballast circuit. Provides precise heating of the lamp filaments while tightly controlling the pre-heat duration before applying starting voltage to the ignite the lamp. Programmed Start Ballasts are recommended by lamp manufacturers for situations where the lamp is switched frequently.
RAPID OR QUICK START BALLAST - A type of fluorescent ballast circuit. Lamp filaments are heated while open circuit voltage is applied to facilitate lamp ignition.