Ballast Purpose

• A fluorescent ballast is used to limit and carefully time electrical current before it flows into the bulb. Uncontrolled current can cause damage to the bulb and make it inoperable. Two types of ballasts are available: magnetic ballasts, which were the first to be created and use a simple electromagnetic generator, and electronic versions, which use more complicated circuits.
  
  

Circuitry

• Magnetic ballasts are much simpler than electronic versions. They are made of a steel core with copper wrappings and a few capacitors without many other necessary devices. Electrical versions, on the other hand, use a mixture of electronic filters and transformers to make specific changes to the current. While electrical versions are more complicated, they are also lighter and fit more easily in small spaces.
  
  

Bulbs

• Magnetic ballasts are made primarily for traditional fluorescent lights in the shape of long tubes. The more complicated fluorescent bulbs become, moving into compact versions, dimming bulbs and multiple sockets, it becomes less likely that magnetic ballasts can supply power to the bulbs. Electronic ballasts work better with newer fluorescent bulbs with added features.
  
  

Bulb Quality

• Magnetic ballasts limit electrical current to around 60 hertz, which works well for basic fluorescent lights but does not use power as efficiently as the electrical version and slows the current cycle down so much that a flicker is often discernible in the light. Electronic ballasts generally operate at 120 hertz instead of 60, which makes flicker impossible for human eyes to notice and runs the bulbs more efficiently.
  
  

Manufacturing

• Because magnetic ballasts are so simple, they are easier to manufacture. This tends to lower their initial costs considerably compared to the complex electronic ballasts, which are often more expensive. Magnetic ballasts do not always last as long as electronic versions either, and they may need to be replaced more often.