This is the percentage of a lamp's rated lumen output that can be expected when operated on a specific, commercially available ballast. Note that the "rated output" is sometimes measured on a reference ballast unlike ones that actually operate the lamp in the field. For example, a ballast with a ballast factor of 0.93 will result in the lamp's emitting 93% of its rated lumen output. A ballast with a lower BF results in less light output and also generally consumes less power.