But these lights also throw a much cleaner light than the yellowish tinge from tungsten bulbs. The tubes are filled with a gas like substance which is illuminated by a short sharp charge. What controls this charge is a piece of equipment called T8 ballast which is fitted within the body of the assembly.

They also illuminate a place much better so less of them will need to be used. But it was the strip light which actually made life a lot easier for most of us and this now is where the mystery of its working baffles the majority of us. It was found that any lights which were turned off and on over regular periods actually used up more power than leaving them on permanently. But to control the charge, and hence the power that was being used, something had to control what was igniting the gas inside the light. The tungsten bulb is indeed a marvelous thing, and we all know roughly how this little gem works. This is why factories tend to use these strip lights over the tungsten varieties and leave them on permanently when work is in progress.

Indeed, if anything goes wrong with this piece of equipment, a replacement ballast is needed so that the fitting can still be used.