What is the purpose of a dimable ballast

[Bobby Blunt]

I keep my ballast at 100% but I see you can select 75% or 50% is it for heat intensity I went 75% to see if it would bring the heat in the tent down it did not so what is its purpose.

 

[Stunned]

Maybe you're raising seedlings and they might not want too much intensity

 

[BigDannel]

Maybe you're raising seedlings and they might not want too much intensity

^ This. When plants are young they don't need nearly as much intensity from those lights and you can dial them down to prevent from hurting the plants, plus save money on your electric bill. Very basically, there is a point at which a plant can't use any additional light and you are just wasting money (and possibly hurting the plant) by pumping extra light into it.

It's also nice to be able to dim the light if you don't want to, or don't have the ability to, raise and lower your lights. Dimming would allow you to set them at a set height and increase the power as needed.

 

[captaincronik]

I keep my ballast at 100% but I see you can select 75% or 50% is it for heat intensity I went 75% to see if it would bring the heat in the tent down it did not so what is its purpose.

i dont see why it wouldnt, i turn mine down to 75% and it definately helps the heat stay down which in turn keeps the VPD levels in check