GE Lighting
Electronic Ballasts for
Ceramic Metal Halide Lamps
The perfect match for reliability and performance.
GE CMH
Electronic Ballasts
To further enhance performance and
reliability, GE Lighting is introducing a new
CMH electronic ballast family. Coupling
ConstantColorTM CMH lamps with dedicated
GE electronic ballasts will ensure further
enhanced performance throughout a long
lamp life. With its advanced design and
patented arc tube construction the
GE ConstantColorTM CMH lamp offers
superior life, energy saving and precise
light quality. GE has the broadest range of
CMH lamps available from a single supplier;
including the unique 20W version.
Microprocessor controlled
Application areas
The CMH lamps and ballasts have been
engineered to perfectly suit a wide range
of indoor applications where compact size,
energy saving and quality of light matter:
• Retail displays
• Commercial interiors
• Offices
• Lobbies
• Public buildings
GE’s range of ballast run up the lamps to
full power rapidly and maintains constant
power independently from mains voltage
fluctuations. The advanced microprocessor
controlled electronics also provides
automatic restart and shutdown features. If
a hot lamp or no lamp is detected during
starting, the ballast will attempt a re-strike
after one minute, if not successful further
attempts are made up to a maximum of four
times in a five minute cycles. In case of an
unsuccessful attempt the ballast will enter
into a safety protection mode. This can be
reset by line interruption.
CMH Mini
CMH Single Ended
CMH PAR 20
CMH Double Ended
CMH PAR 30
CMH Elliptical
Diffuse
Wide range of wattages
to meet application needs
All CMH ballasts offered by GE are electronic,
giving important advantages over conventional
electromagnetic circuits:
• Major savings on electricity
• Flicker-free light
• Long lamp life
• Light weight and compact size
• Simplified wiring
Ballasts are available for 20W, 35W, 70W and
150W ceramic metal halide lamps and quartz
metal halide lamps. There are two mounting
options for all wattages:
• Integral with open terminals – designed for
embodiment into the luminaire housing
• Remote with covered terminal and cable
strain relief – for location outside the
luminaire.
The lightweight 20W and 35W integral
ballasts are available in small plastic cases
enabling side mounting. The remote version
of the 20W and the 35W, and both versions
of the 70W have the same standard footprint.
The 150W Integral and Remote models are
in black aluminium housings.
High reliability
The CMH ballasts from GE are designed and
built for quality and reliability. So you are
assured of trouble-free performance throughout
the 50,000 hours of service life. The lamp
life is maximised through the use of 150 Hz
square-wave lamp current, constant lamp power
and immunity to mains voltage transients.
The circuit board is thermally protected and
automatic shutdown occurs if the printed circuit
board temperature exceeds 110°C.
Colour stability and uniformity
The CMH lamps from GE have excellent
colour stability throughout their lives. Rigorous quality control process ensures that both
lamp and ballast provide maximum colour
uniformity from lamp to lamp. Application
Remote operation
The 20W electronic ballasts can be located
up to 10m from the lamp. With 35W, 70W
and 150W models a maximum 25m cable
length can be used. Due to the unique
technology, the ballast can properly ignite
the lamp at these distances, provided the
cable capacitance is below the specified limit.
The remote operation gives total flexibility in
the luminaire design.
Full system compatibility
The combination of GE lamps and ballasts
will meet your requirements for long product
life and superior performance. The GE
ConstantColorTM CMH lamps on the right
can be driven with GE electronic ballasts.
You can also enjoy the benefits of ease of
ordering and technical support from a single
source.
CMH Tubular
Clear
CMH Elliptical
Clear
General Information
Technical Data
Watts
Volts
Description
20
220-240
BLS/E/20W/CMH
20
220-240
35
220-240
35
220-240
70
220-240
70
Lamp
Effic.
Mains
Current
Max
Cable
Cap.
Max
Cable
Length**
W
lm/W
A
pF
m
o
1700
20
85
0.10
1000
10
75
Mounting
Weight
Pack Qty
Product Code
Integral
190 g
12
13032
System
Power
BLS/E/20W/CMH/R
Remote
230 g
12
13034
BLS/E/35W/CMH
Integral
215 g
12
13035
W
lm/W
lm
BLS/E/35W/CMH/R
Remote
230 g
12
13036
BLS/E/20W/CMH
23.5
72
BLS/E/70W/CMH
Integral
300 g
12
13040
BLS/E/20W/CMH/R
220-240
BLS/E/70W/CMH/R
Remote
310 g
12
13047
150
220-240
BLS/E/150W/CMH
Integral
430 g
12
13050
150
220-240
BLS/E/150W/CMH/R
Remote
445 g
12
13053
Ballast Identification
The diagram explains the way to break down our description so that you know
at a glance the basic information about a particular model
72
1700
20
85
0.10
1000
10
75
43
79
3400
39
87
0.18
3000
25
75
BLS/E/35W/CMH/R
43
79
3400
39
87
0.18
3000
25
75
BLS/E/70W/CMH
78
80
6200
72
86
0.33
3000
25
75
BLS/E/70W/CMH/R
78
80
6200
72
86
0.33
3000
25
65
BLS/E/150W/CMH
159
88
14000
146
96
0.69
3000
25
80
BLS/E/150W/CMH/R
159
88
14000
146
96
0.69
3000
25
80
Lamp Current Waveform  Square-wave
Ignition Voltage*** < 2.5 kV
Ambient Temperature Range -20 ... +50 °C
Thermal Cut-off on PCB  110 °C
* Typical value for Single Ended Mini 20W/35W/70W CMH and Single Ended 150W 3000K CMH
** Typical value if cable capacitance is below the specified limit
*** If a hot lamp or no lamp is detected the ballast will attempt to start the lamp after one minute, if
not successful further attempts are made up to a maximum of 4 times in 5 minute cycles, then if not
successful the ballast will shut-down. The ballast is reset automatically by a supply interruption.
Dimensions
BLS/E/20W/CMH
BLS/E/35W/CMH
101,5
BLS/E/70W/CMH
126
BLS/E/20W/CMH/R
BLS/E/35W/CMH/R
BLS/E/70W/CMH/R
126
112,5
120
98
120
137
123
177
ConstantColorTM CMH Lamp
Lamp Description
20
CMH20/TC/UVC/U/830/G8.5
35
70
CMH35/TC/UVC/U/830/G8.5
CMH70/TC/UVC/U/830/G8.5
35
70
BLS/E/150W/CMH/R
121
121
130
130
172
Circuitry
GE Electronic Ballast
Prod.
Code
BLS/E/150W/CMH
142,5
Ballast Selector for ConstantColorTM CMH Lamps
Integral Mounting
Prod.
Code
Remote Mounting
Prod.
Code
92079
BLS/E/20W/CMH
13032
BLS/E/20W/CMH/R
13034
38697
38700
BLS/E/35W/CMH
BLS/E/70W/CMH
13035
13040
BLS/E/35W/CMH/R
BLS/E/70W/CMH/R
13036
13047
CMH35/T/UVC/U/830/G12
38696
BLS/E/35W/CMH
13035
BLS/E/35W/CMH/R
13036
CMH70/T/UVC/U/830/G12
36844
BLS/E/70W/CMH
13040
BLS/E/70W/CMH/R
13047
70
CMH70/T/UVC/U/942/G12
38701
BLS/E/70W/CMH
13040
BLS/E/70W/CMH/R
13047
150
150
CMH150/T/UVC/U/830/G12
CMH150/T/UVC/U/942/G12
36863
38694
BLS/E/150W/CMH
BLS/E/150W/CMH
13050
13050
BLS/E/150W/CMH/R
BLS/E/150W/CMH/R
13053
13053
CMH70/TD/UVC/830/RX7s
36910
BLS/E/70W/CMH
13040
BLS/E/70W/CMH/R
13047
70
CMH70/TD/UVC/942/RX7s
38698
BLS/E/70W/CMH
13040
BLS/E/70W/CMH/R
13047
150
150
CMH150/TD/UVC/830/RX7s
CMH150/TD/UVC/942/RX7s
36912
38692
BLS/E/150W/CMH
BLS/E/150W/CMH
13050
13050
BLS/E/150W/CMH/R
BLS/E/150W/CMH/R
13053
13053
CMH35/PAR20/UVC/830/E27/SP
CMH35/PAR20/UVC/830/E27/FL
41883
41884
BLS/E/35W/CMH
BLS/E/35W/CMH
13035
13035
BLS/E/35W/CMH/R
BLS/E/35W/CMH/R
13036
13036
35
CMH35/PAR30/UVC/830/E27/SP
41886
BLS/E/35W/CMH
13035
BLS/E/35W/CMH/R
13036
35
CMH35/PAR30/UVC/830/E27/FL
41887
BLS/E/35W/CMH
13035
BLS/E/35W/CMH/R
13036
70
70
CMH70/PAR30/UVC/830/E27/SP
CMH70/PAR30/UVC/830/E27/FL
41621
41620
BLS/E/70W/CMH
BLS/E/70W/CMH
13040
13040
BLS/E/70W/CMH/R
BLS/E/70W/CMH/R
13047
13047
Elliptical Clear
70
CMH70/E/UVC/U/830/E27/C
46189
BLS/E/70W/CMH
13040
BLS/E/70W/CMH/R
13047
Elliptical Diffuse
70
CMH70/E/UVC/U/830/E27/D
46187
BLS/E/70W/CMH
13040
BLS/E/70W/CMH/R
13047
CMH70/TT/UVC/830/E27
CMH150/TT/UVC/830/E40
38752
38749
BLS/E/70W/CMH
BLS/E/150W/CMH
13040
13050
BLS/E/70W/CMH/R
BLS/E/150W/CMH/R
13047
13053
Watts
C
23.5
Lamp Operating Frequency 150 Hz
Ballast Product
Electronic
Nominal Lamp Power
Suitable Lamp Group
Remote Mount (optional)
Max
Tc
BLS/E/35W/CMH
Rated Mains Voltage 220 ... 240 V
Allowed Mains Voltage Range  198 ... 264 V
Mains Frequency 50/60 Hz
Power Factor > 0.95
BLS/E/20W/CMH/R
4,2
System
Initial
Lamp
Efficacy Lumens* Power
Wire cross section: 0.75...2.5 mm2
Single Ended Mini
Single Ended
Double Ended
70
PAR 20
35
35
< 2.5 kV
BLS/E/20W/CMH/R
BLS/E/35W/CMH/R
BLS/E/70W/CMH
BLS/E/70W/CMH/R
BLS/E/150W/CMH
BLS/E/150W/CMH/R
< 2.5 kV
PAR 30
Tubular Clear
70
150
GE Lighting
and General Electric are both registered trademarks of the
General Electric Company. © General Electric Company 2003.
The ballasts comply with the relevant
parts of the following standards:
– EMC EN 55015
– Harmonics EN 61000-3-2
– Immunity EN 61547
– Safety EN 60926/EN 60928/EN 61347
– Performance EN 60927/EN 60929
Please visit us on the web at www.GELighting.com
GE Lighting is constantly developing and improving its products. For this reason, all product descriptions in this
brochure are intended as a general guide, and we may change specifications from time to time in the interest
of product development, without prior notification or public announcement. All descriptions in this publication
present only general particulars of the goods to which they refer and shall not form part of any contract. Data
in this guide has been obtained in controlled experimental conditions. However, GE Lighting cannot accept any
liability arising from the reliance on such data to the extent permitted by law.
CMH Electronic Ballasts – Product Brochure - English – May 2003.