Compensating power measurement phase delay error

Measurement of inductively coupled fluorescent lamp power is complicated by design limitation of available electronic power analyzers. At frequencies of tens of kilohertz, power measurement accuracies can be a few tenths of a percent. At several hundred kHz, parasitic phase delays in test setup wiring and between voltage and current processing analog circuits inside modern power analyzers cause measurement errors of low power factor loads of hundreds of percent. This affects lamp and ballast power conversion efficiency calculations and makes lamp power measurements in a dimmed state useless. This paper analyzes this problem and shows a means to correct the measured readings and discusses the impact on inductively coupled fluorescent lamp measurements.