This Technical Report applies to fluorescent lamp dimming systems. It deals with the interface of fluorescent lamps and dimming electronic controlgear. A unified framework for standardization of fluorescent lamp dimming systems and the associated parameter calculation method are described in this Technical Report.

Dimming of fluorescent lamps is becoming increasingly important as a strategy for conserving global energy resources. This report is the result of many years of effort by global experts to understand and test fluorescent dimming systems with the objective of standardizing these systems to grow confidence and reliability in the marketplace. Two theoretical frameworks have been merged to create this unified dimming standardization method: the SoS (sum of squares of lead-in-wire currents) and CV (cathode voltage) models. The application of dimming to actual fluorescent lamp and electronic controlgear (ECG) systems is the primary concern for reliability in the application and end-user confidence. Characteristics of the dimming parameter limits described in this report and observed in real system app lications such as in situ field diagnostics are offered as informative. The practical need to use substitution resistors for ECG qualification is described in this report and also given as normative parameters in the lamp and ECG standards. No attempt to treat the informative real lamp-ECG system parameters as normative will be made in either the lamp or the controlgear standards.