ClickKlick
New Member
Everything I read tells me that Watts should always be less than VA according to Power Factor. However. I am running an electronic ballast to light a metal halide lamp. I'm taking measurements between the ballast and the lamp.
The ballast is rated:
Input Voltage- 108-305V 50/60Hz
Input Current- 0.364A@120V 0.165A@277V
Output Power- 39W
High Power Factor- >0.95
THD- <9%
My meter is reading:
Watts- 83.4
VA- 37.5
V- 84.1
I- .447
It's a 39Watt lamp, why is the measured wattage so high, and why is it higher than the VA?
Also, I've read that using a computer power supply to power your breadboard and experiment circuits is a good idea. I have a 500W power supply but I am alarmed at the current output. At 5V it indicates 38A, 12V @ 27A...... why would this not kill me and/or burn up any circuit I make? Also, this has ATX cables, do I just use my meter to find out which voltage each is... and is ground referenced to the supply case, or is there an actual ground output? I don't have a meter yet so I haven't tried anything. Any info would be awesome!
The ballast is rated:
Input Voltage- 108-305V 50/60Hz
Input Current- 0.364A@120V 0.165A@277V
Output Power- 39W
High Power Factor- >0.95
THD- <9%
My meter is reading:
Watts- 83.4
VA- 37.5
V- 84.1
I- .447
It's a 39Watt lamp, why is the measured wattage so high, and why is it higher than the VA?
Also, I've read that using a computer power supply to power your breadboard and experiment circuits is a good idea. I have a 500W power supply but I am alarmed at the current output. At 5V it indicates 38A, 12V @ 27A...... why would this not kill me and/or burn up any circuit I make? Also, this has ATX cables, do I just use my meter to find out which voltage each is... and is ground referenced to the supply case, or is there an actual ground output? I don't have a meter yet so I haven't tried anything. Any info would be awesome!