GE UltraMax Proline Electronic Ballast, 120/277 Volt Instant Start Ballast, High Power Ballast Factor, Ballast for Fluorescent Light (2) or (1) Lamp T8

I've installed this ballast in my kitchen. The previous generic brand had died and this one was about the same price here as name brand instant start ballasts were in local stores. The advantage of using a Programed Rapid Start ballast is that it is suppose to give the bulb 100,000+ on/off cycles vs 10,000 for an instant start. This is great for a place that has the lights turned on and off multiple times a day, such as a kitchen. The start up delay is about a 0.5 second, which is not noticeable. This ballast does not have a grounding wire to it and therefor I grounded the wire from the outlet to the fixture in which grounds the ballast through its metal casing. This ballast has a high power factor (0.99) as well as a high ballast factor (1.15). I don't know about longevity but it does come with a 5 year warranty.

I got the high ballast factor model of this rapid start ballast to replace an instant start ballast that was being operated by a motion detector. Not only does the rapid start save my bulbs by preheating the cathodes, but it still starts fast and the light is almost too bright to look at. In a garage, this is exactly what i want. The only drawback is if you have shunted lamp holders, you must replace them with non-shunted lamp holders. After that, you are all good to go.

The ballast was relatively easy to install, having replaced some in the past, and it has been working well so far. I was surprised that even with the same lamps the lamp output appears significantly brighter after replacing the ballast.

This was ordered to replace a ballast in one of 2 lights in our walk in closet. Although listed as a fast start ballast it starts slower than the original one in the other light in our closet. It's only a split second behind the other one - but distinctly slower starting. However it is working fine so far and installation was no problem.

Used to replace the older ballasts so that t-8 LED bullbs would work.

Brighter light with my LED bulb than my old balast, easy installation.

They only work with some T8 lights

Installation was simple, easy and straightforward.