A free-running inverter for a load, especially a low-voltage lamp, with a series circuit of two controllable switches (10, 11) which interconnects both inputs of the inverter connected to a rectified a.c. voltage, a control voltage having to exceed a given threshold to operate the switches (10, 11); and a trigger component (21) connected to one of the two control inputs of the switches (10, 11), the trigger component (21) having a voltage swing which is greater than the threshold voltage of the switches (10, 11), and the voltage excursion giving the voltage range between the breakdown voltage and the level to which the voltage returns after the breakdown.