A ballast is always necessary for the operation of high pressure sodium lights (HPS) or metal halide lamps (MH). The selection of the right ballast is dependent on two important factors, economic efficiency in operation and convenience of use.

Conventional ballasts have the highest power consumption. If you want to save as much power as possible, you should always use the more efficient electronic ballasts.

GIB Lighting ballasts have thermal protection, which rules out overheating.

Other advantages of an electronic ballast are:

- low power consumption (up to 20% less power consumption)
- lamps are gently started and operated
- lamps have a longer life
- no flickering or ripples in the luminous flux
- electrical ballasts can often be adjusted