When I've asked one of the electricians of Carmel hospital, to reconnect the gear of one of the Moshe Shaltiel floodlights, and replace the CFL with an 400W HPS lamp to match the ignitor requirements, he said me that they installed an EL lamp (The name that they calls a self ballasted CFL), because it don't uses a ballast, while ignoring that the ballast incorporated inside the lamp.
Btw, most electricians in Israel, calls CFLs "EL lamps", despite EL is actually a short for ElectroLuminescence.

From the electrician's point of view there is no ballast needed to run that lamp, so that is, what he meant by that. He don't have to care what is inside that lamp at all, he only have to know, where it could be used and where not (the temperatures, recommended use,...). And if that is properly described in the product datasheet/manual, he really does not need to know any more details for him to do his job properly.

Some electricians aren't the brightest bulb in the box. I see proof of that frequently.


I do know certain linear LED lamps designed to retrofit florescent lamps require a ballast bypass, however the ballast is build into the lamp.