Bright idea to improve safety
November 1st 2011

Implementing low carbon,sustainable options for buildings not only reduces costs but uses resources in a manner that doesn't damage the environment or the health of the people in it.One option to reduce energy consumption and improve health & safety is the implementation of interior and exterior LED lighting.Darren Rose explains what he believes are some of the benefits

Safety and security

Traditional lighting sources use monochromatic spectrums which do not allow identification of colours clearly.

When viewing colours under sodium lights, the shades of orange appear normal, but other colours appear lifeless and dull.

This is because only the colours that match the light being emitted are picked out.

In contrast, white LED's provide superb optical control and colour definition. The current generation of white LED's have high outputs and are ideal for external areas.

If you compare the safety of a car park area lit with LED lighting with one lit by general lighting, you would feel safer parking in the one lit by LED lighting, particularly during the dark winter months.

Health benefits

Internal and external LED lighting does not produce ultra violet light which can be detrimental to health. Nor do LED lights contain toxic heavy metals or mercury which can be extremely hazardous if broken and released into the environment.

Fit and forget

Traditional lighting has to be changed regularly and, if the lighting is in hard to reach areas, specialist equipment may be required, adding to maintenance costs and increasing health & safety risks. In contrast, the long life of LED lighting means that lamp changing and lamp failures are a thing of the past. LED lighting life is up to 100,000 hours. In a typical UK night time burning situation, this equates to approximately 25 years.

No routine maintenance is required to ensure continued performance, thus costs are reduced and the possibility of missed maintenance or accidents whilst installing new lighting is avoided.

Safety standards Use a supplier that uses quality LED lighting. Internal lighting should meet CE standards and standards for the Restriction of the Use of Certain Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment (RoHS). Lighting should also be manufactured to the quality management system, ISO and also to national standards such as TUV accreditation, to reduce health & safety risks.

You should also choose a company which is able to consult about the various lighting options available and which would be the most appropriate option for your business requirements. Always choose a reputable company whose staff is trained and experienced in building maintenance. One of the key legal requirements of the Work at Height Regulations 2005, amended by the Work at Height (Amendment) Regulations 2007 is for competent, well trained people to plan, organise, supervise and carry out work at height such as the installation and maintenance of lighting.

Meeting regulatory requirements: EU legislation

Governments around the world have passed measures to phase out incandescent light bulbs for general lighting. The aim is to encourage the use and technological development of more energy-efficient lighting alternatives, such as LED lights.

The European Union's withdrawal of traditional light bulbs started in August 2009 – a move aimed at introducing new energy efficient lighting technologies into more widespread use to meet a 2020 CO2 reduction target of one million tons per annum.

The EU Commission has also put through a regulation on office, industry and street lighting to encourage energy efficient options. During 2012 this covers the following: Phase out of T12 fluorescent (FL) tubes.

Phase out of high-pressure sodium (HPS) standard quality lamps (only E27/ E40/ PGZ12 affected).

Phase out of less efficient metal halide (MH) lamps (only E27/E40/PGZ12 affected).

LED lighting options available

There are a number of different external and internal LED lighting options available, depending upon the size of your business and your requirements, including health & safety issues. For example, if you need to clearly illuminate walkway areas, the LED lighting bollard provides a safe, secure passage for customers, employees and other pedestrians. Other options available include the Marlin Street light which offers up to 70 per cent reduction in carbon and energy. For flood lighting, an option provided by CAM Specialist Support is the Stingray LED floodlight, which is an extremely high performance luminary.

Darren Rose is the continuous improvement director at CAM Specialist Support. Contact CAM Specialist Support for a free LED lighting assessment by calling the number below or using the reader enquiry number.