We've all heard that we should change the batteries in our smoke detectors when the time changes, but other safety concerns need periodic attention as well. This year, as we welcome the New Year, consider your lighting maintenance program. What? You don't think you have one?
Topics: Energy Savings
It is important that your facility is always be “up to code.” This is especially crucial when it comes to your annual fire code inspection. Violations can come with hefty fines. The key to passing inspection is preparation. This starts by understanding the codes and comprehending what is expected of you. Below are some tips to help you prepare for your next fire code inspection.
Ensuring compliance with fire safety codes is a high priority for any business. Certain fire code violations occur more often than others, and are surprisingly easy to avoid by taking a few proactive measures.
Relamping may sound exotic, but it is the most basic part of lighting maintenance. It is the first thing people suggest when a light starts to flicker and burn out, and it is the most efficient way to maintain lighting in your facility. Here are the basics.
Topics: Energy Savings
Light Emitting Diodes or LED lighting is all the buzz in the lighting industry. As one of the most exciting technological advancements in recent history, it offers numerous benefits. Not the least of these is its extreme energy efficiency. We've rounded up 3 of the biggest benefits of upgrading to LED lighting.
Topics: Energy Savings
You’ve all heard the buzz about LEDs recently. In truth, light-emitting diodes have been around since the 1960s. Over the last five years, the price of these diodes has come down significantly and while there is certainly room for improvement, the technology has become more reliable. We are seeing LEDs used for lighting in a multitude of applications including everything from street lights, to freezer lighting, to the taillights of your automobile. As the cost of the diodes decline the advantages over other light sources including lower energy consumption, longer lifetime, durability, smaller size, and faster switching have led to greater use in lighting applications.
Topics: Emergency Lighting
In the 1970’s manufactures of emergency lighting began to use a new gel type battery in many of the units they produced. Prior to that time, they generally use lead antimony and nickel cadmium cells utilizing a wet electrolyte of sulfuric acid or potassium hydroxide respectively. Both came in a number of amp/hr sizes and cells could be added in series to create various voltages, but mostly six and twelve volt blocks were utilized. These emergency lighting batteries required varying degrees of maintenance throughout the year.
Topics: Emergency Lighting, Emergency Lighting CT
Some locations where it is difficult to install electrically powered emergency exit signs, such as above doorways, are perfect locations for Tritium exit signs. Tritium exit signs are signs that glow in the dark and contain a radioactive gas called tritium. The gas is enclosed in sealed glass tubes with a light-emitting compound inside. The tritium gives off low-energy beta radiation that causes the lining to glow inside the sign but the radiation is unable to penetrate even a piece of paper or clothing. Just like other more common exit signs, these units serve an important safety function by marking exits to be used during power outages and other emergencies. Tritium signs come in 10 year and 20 year expiration models and are available in a number of colors and configurations.
Topics: Emergency Lighting Systems, Emergency Lighting, Emergency Lighting CT
Most manufacturers of 6 and 12 volt emergency lighting equipment use a cabinet that is frequently larger than needed for the particular battery specified for the wattage of the unit itself. These manufacturers have found that it is less costly to supply only two or three cabinet sizes. However, it is very common that these cabinets have the capacity to hold batteries ranging from 8 amp-hours to 80 amp-hours. In fact, your D.C. wattage load may be as little as 27 watts but can be increased to 200-300 watts just by replacing the battery and increasing its capacity. You must be sure to use the proper voltage and cannot use a 12v battery in a 6v unit; both the charger and lamps are not compatible. With this information in mind, and using larger amp-hour battery, you may be able to add emergency light heads to the top of the unit, run remote fixtures, or increase the run-time of the emergency lights up from the fire-code-required 90 minutes to 3-4 hours for minimal investment.
