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Viewpoint


Thinking Small


David Scott of b,a,g, Electronics believes that lighting systems include a number of components that are more deserving of a second thought than many people realise.


When we think about lighting systems, much of the focus tends to be on the light source and the luminaire – hardly surprising given that they are the most visible elements of a lighting system. However, I would suggest that there are compelling reasons for also sparing a thought for the smaller, ‘low profile’ components such as control gear and igniters.


For instance, one of the bugbears of users of traditional metal halide lighting is the need to wait for the lamp to cool once it’s been turned off before it can be turned on again. A potential solution to this problem is the use of patented electronic ‘hot re-strike ignitors’. These enable HID lamps to re-strike within a fraction of a second – something that saved the organisers of the Euro 2012 football championship considerable investment in huge portable uninterruptible power supplies for floodlighting – and the same principles can be applied to high and low bay HID lighting. Control gear for fluorescent lighting is another such example. Readers may be aware that ballasts falling below the A band of the Energy Efficiency Index are being phased out. However, they may not be so familiar with the two grades of A2 ballast that now exist – standard A2 and A2 BAT (best available technology). A2 ballasts are


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very efficient and A2 BAT has been introduced as a new ‘best in class’ standard for fluorescent control gear that offers considerable cost and energy savings.


Then there are the ballasts that control the inrush current to a 70W metal halide fitting, reducing it from around 40A to just 1.4A at the moment of ignition. The result is that instead of restricting each circuit to 23 fittings, with the aid of an inrush current ballast, each circuit can safely carry up to 37 fittings. In fact, these are just some examples of the importance of ‘out of sight, out of mind’ lighting components – and such components are continually being upgraded to enhance their performance. So that’s why I believe it’s important for lighting specifiers to keep up to speed with all lighting components!


Contact


b,a,g, Electronics T: +44 (0) 1245 469935 www.bagelectronics.com


www.a1lightingmagazine.com


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