Lighting
At Birmingham NEC MHA Lighting replaced T8 fluorescents with their TiLite 30 luminaires that were engineered to dim to 7% and to work seamlessly with RGB LED down lights
hog to LED or the smaller perceived safer switch to T5 technology which involves a much lower investment - but a fraction of the energy saving. A key factor in choosing between these two will be the operating hours involved in the application.
LEDs involve a greater upfront expenditure and whilst offering much more significant savings this only translates into the better business case if the lights are being burnt for at least 11 hours a day such that return on investment can be achieved in a justifiable timeframe.
If selecting LED technology care also needs to be taken to ensure high reliability products are installed.
The LED lighting industry is young and immature and there are horror stories aplenty regarding quality failures. For my own part I have been shocked to have been shown LED light fittings powered by laptop power supplies – and made a mental note to return to the premises in six months to offer a replacement. In fact all the benefits of LED technology are completely dependent upon longevity in the fitting. And longevity in a LED light engine is completely dependent upon three crucial factors: • The LED itself • Thermal management of the junction temperature
• The driver
Facilities Managers are totally entitled to ask the LED manufacturers/ suppliers to provide thorough documented evidence and certification for each of those three elements. Responsible LED lighting suppliers will have independent test data for each of those factors as well as photometric data, CE marking and IP rating certification, TM 21 reports and LM 80 reliability data. They will also be happy to share case studies with you and should provide
Building & Facilities Management – June 2014
reference sites for you to visit. LEDs can also be highly directional which is why the majority of LED fittings tend to be downlights, spotlights or very high bay.
But today there are certain LED lights which will replace standard traditional lamps and provide equivalent uniformity. For example MHA Lighting’s technology is waveguide technology which we utilise to create the same uniformity of light distribution as traditional lamps do. Facilities Managers need to ask for the photometric data as evidence of the light distribution of any fitting that they may be considering to install. Care should also be taken to ensure that for internal applications LEDs with 80 CRI - or external application 65CRI – should be specified. Some LED manufacturers provide much cooler temperatures as these give the appearance of the light actually being brighter than it truly is. In our experience cooler temperatures of around 4000 Kelvin are best suited to most internal applications which may involve precision working and external temperatures of 5500 kelvin and a 65CRI will deliver the ideal light colour.
Also with respect to colour creation, LED lights can be quite inconsistent with a tolerance range of up to 500 kelvin so Facilities Managers should take care to specify a tolerance of say + /- 100 Kelvin and insist that the manufacturer demonstrates how this will be achieved. Finally the manufacturers should be questioned as to how the internal LEDs are protected so that things like surges in power supply will not result in catastrophic failure of the light engine. Personally as a manufacturer of lighting products that use LEDs as the light source I hope Facilities Managers are not deterred from making the switch to LED. The technology is here and the
ever growing number of professional LED lighting manufacturers and suppliers are constantly innovating to create ever- improving solutions. MHA Lighting’s strapline - The future of lighting is here - is intentional. The technology really is here right now and the take up will be no less than phenomenal. For example, presently only around 10-15% of the general lighting market is occupied by LED. This is set to increase to 64% by 2020, resulting in a market value of $75.6billion. Meanwhile MHA Lighting continues to work with some of the UK’s biggest and best known Blue Chip organisations, Local Authorities and NHS Trusts. To date they have been delighted with major energy savings of between 70-80% and equivalent CO2
reductions. They have
been further impressed by light quality and other associated benefits of LED lighting ranging from zero maintenance to the long life and cleanliness of fittings.
MHA Lighting:
MHA Lighting is an award-winning lighting manufacturer based in Greater Manchester that has an extensive range of LED solutions for most internal and external applications.
The team at MHA believe that everyone should have the best lit environment achievable – whether that is at work, in public places or on the streets. We don’t sell lights – what we do is much more important than that. We help every one of our clients achieve the best lit environment possible and typically save them 80% on their energy bills along the way. We have an award-winning technical team who are passionate about creating meaningful innovations that provide the RIGHT lighting solution for each individual’s requirements first time. We are the only lighting manufacturer to shine light sideways into encapsulation avoiding direct contact with the eye and providing a safe, efficient light output. We also use acrylic rods to amplify and control the light output, reducing the number of LEDs required. This means we can use high power LEDs, draw less current and have no need to diffuse the output. Case Studies of our work include:
The Trafford Centre, GlaxoSmithKline, Scott Safety, the NHS, Birmingham NEC, Greater Manchester Police, Manchester Airport Group, Reckitt Benckiser and Chevron-Texaco. Visit:
www.mhalighting.co.uk Call: 01942 887400 Email:
sales@mhalighting.com
lighting 21
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