I've heard a lot about ballast? What exactly is it used for?

it's used for the lights
normal ballast versus electronic ballast
e-ballast no need starter

ic..ic... so if my lights have e-ballast(it doesn't seem to have a starter), does it mean that I can use watever walts of lights I want? Now I'm using 25W, I can buy and change to 30W or higher without any problems rite??

The ballast builds up a reservoir of charge so that it can supply enough voltage to light up (excite) the phosphors in the PL or FL tube. The ballast is normally rated around the wattage of the tube.

There wil be no problems if the ballast rating is almost equal to the wattage of tube, i.e. a 13W ballast used for a 11W tube or 18W tube. If the ballast rating is much higher than the tube wattage, e.g. a 40W ballast used for a 11W tube, the tube will blow.

On the other hand, if the ballast is too low, e.g. 13W ballast used for a 25W tube, the tube will operate at lower efficiency (lower lumens/brightness and that is no good for the tube) or worst, the tube does not light up at all.

Wow.. so cheem huh... now I understand.. thanks..

Oh no.. another question....

how do I know wat's the wattage of my e-ballast huh???