Emergency lighting: the benefits of LED devices
March 1st 2006

The practice in the UK of providing emergency lighting by converting standard light fittings is far from ideal according to ETAP Lighting.

The company says the distribution of light is tight because many office luminaires have been designed to meet the former LG3 Cat 2, requiring a higher number of emergency conversion units. The company adds that the ends of fluorescent lamps, particularly T5, blacken and fail early, and says that low mercury content can hamper starting in cooler areas.

The K9 module offers an alternative to converted fittings. The led in the device is not effected by switching which means, in principle, it never needs replacing.

The high power LED and advanced optical design means a reduced number of K9 modules is required, saving money.

The unit's diameter is just 3cm as the LED is a point source and advanced photometry does the rest. For anti-panic lighting, a dedicated lens spreads light equally over a wide area of 9 by 9m.

The optical system for escape route lighting concentrates light over the centre line of the escape route giving spacings of 11m. The life of an LED is up to 100 000h.

Sophisticated software manages the charging of the batteries and automatic self-testing which comes as standard and can be managed and monitored by Etap's computerised management system.

Power consumption is said to be minimal due to the use of LEDs and the charging process used.

Batteries are nickel metal hydride and recyclable.