Energy consumption in all buildings in recent times has become a critical issue based on the ever-increasing cost of electricity.
At Luxonic Lighting, a UK based wholly British owned light fittings and controls manufacturer, we are involved in numerous initiatives with various clients to help them reduce their power consumption and hence their electricity bills. Our success in the design and manufacture of energy efficient lighting has led us to the logistics market, where there are many premises still using inefficient lighting, which should be changed to reduce our clients energy bills and their carbon footprint.
A 250 Watt SON (High Pressure Sodium) lamp typically runs at 275 watt total power consumption, and a 400 watt SON at 435 Watt. A 400 Watt SON lamp typically costs £1.00 to run for 24 hours. Most SON ‘LOBAY’ or ‘HIBAY’ light fittings are not designed for lighting aisles and do a very inefficient job. The colour of light from a SON lamp is also generally poor, tending to appear yellow or orange, making it quite unpleasant to work under (see Fig 1).
The Luxonic range of ‘AISLELUX®’ fittings are specifically designed for aisle lighting and are over 90% efficient.
This means vastly less power is consumed for the same required lighting levels. They use the latest T5 white light fluorescent lamp technology. Dimmable high frequency control gear is also used to allow the fittings to dim down when areas are unoccupied or when daylight is present. A twin lamp 80 watt fitting can often replace a 400 watt SON fitting, at an installed power consumption of only 165 watts.
Generally, ‘AISLELUX®’ fittings can be installed on a one for one replacement basis using the existing wiring, up to a height of 20 metres. In addition, as these fittings use fluorescent lamp technology, emergency versions can be supplied which eliminates the need for a secondary emergency lighting provision as required when SON lamps are used.
The ‘AISLELUX®’ range of fittings far exceed the energy requirements of ‘Part L’ which is essential for Building Regulations compliance. In addition, T5 lamps have a life expectancy of over 20,000 hours thereby keeping maintenance costs under control.
When the aisle is unoccupied, the light from the fitting remains at 10% of maximum, (see Fig 2) so that the aisle is always illuminated to eliminate the ‘black hole’ effect of unlit aisles.
When an operator enters the aisle, the presence detector (mounted in the luminaire) turns the lamps to full output (see Fig 3). Once the operator leaves the aisle, after approximately three minutes the luminaire returns to 10% light output.
The sensors are easily re-programmed using a hand held programmer, so that different set up features can be achieved.
Daylight Savings
The sensors are also equipped with a daylight regulation feature so that the light fittings will dim down if daylight is present, saving even more energy.
luxonic lighting plc Tel: 01256 363090 email: save.energy@luxonic.co.uk www.luxonic.co.uk
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