Floodlights & Emergency Lighting

The most commonly found domestic floodlight is the standard 500 Watt PIR tungsten halogen floodlight. This floodlight, whilst being bright, is far from perfect for normal domestic use. When using a 500 Watt lamp this fitting is costly in consumption cost and lamp cost. This is because the lamp gets too hot in most enclosed fittings and shortens the lamp life; most halogen lamps have an expected lamp life of between 1500-2000 hours but in reality this can be reduced to as little as just 500 hours. Furthermore, running costs for this floodlight are high at around 7.5 pence an hour. Considering most halogen lamps only produce around 18 lumens per Watt this falls well below the 40 lumens per Watt required for energy efficient lighting standards.

Low Energy Floodlighting

Over the last few years, due to spiralling energy costs and more concern for environmental issues, a demand for low energy floodlights with a long life lamp has emerged. A number of solutions meet this requirement, with the best suited to domestic use being compact fluorescent lamp (CFL) models. Whilst not being as bright as the 500 Watt tungsten halogen lamp versions these are far more suited to domestic use.

CFL Lighting

One of the easiest ways to change to CFL lighting is a retro fit lamp for standard 118mm tungsten halogen lamps. This lamp is a 24 Watt model about the equivalent of 120-150 Watt halogen lamp which is adequate to light up a patio area for general illumination. The running costs for this lamp is 95% lower compared to a 500w halogen lamp, in some cases as low as 0.005p per hour. Furthermore it produces an environmentally friendly 52 lumens per Watt. Another popular CFL floodlights is a 2 x 26W PLC version which has a light output comparable to 300 Watts of halogen.

The Advantages

The main advantages of CFLs are the lower running costs and an extended lamp life which can be anything from 8,000 hours to 20,000 hours depending on lamp and ballast combination. Another advantage is the range of lamp colours. These include soft warm white (2700K) which is ideal for summer evening barbecues, standard white (3500K) which is suited to general illumination, and cool white (4000K) or daylight (6400K), which are best suited for use with CCTV security equipment (more about this can be found in the commercial industrial section).

LED Floodlighting

A recent development in floodlighting is LED technology. These floodlights are now appearing on the domestic market, and while they have a higher initial cost this is offset by running costs and lamp life. For example, a floodlight with a 160 LED cluster only uses approximately 8.5 Watts of power to produce the equivalent light of an 80 Watt incandescent lamp, and will have an expected lamp life of approximately 50,000 hours, making this extremely economical to run. LED lighting is certainly the one to watch in for the future as it is improving rapidly.

If you would like to know more about security floodlights please contact us to find out more.

In an emergency when the lighting goes down, getting it back up can mean the difference between a safe escape or an unfortunate accident; making emergency lighting, not only the best option, but a legal requirement which carries serious consequences if not fulfilled.

In a blackout emergency lighting can illuminate the way towards fire exits. It can reduce panic among frightened staff and help to evacuate staff out of a building safely. Without it everyday obstacles can become highly dangerous and can become lethal.

Emergency lighting comes in a range of products that varies from internal/external bulkheads to exit signs to twin spots and many more. Knowing which emergency lighting to use for each situation is key and should be checked with via a fire safety expert, the contractor during installation to ensure it meets the required legislation.

Most emergency lighting comes in two options – maintained and non-maintained:

Maintained:

A maintained fitting can be either wired to be permanently on or switched like a normal light via a light switch or other suitable controller and then operate in the event of power failure.

Non-Maintained:

A non maintained fitting does not switch on until power is lost to the unit.

Once the power cut occurs the lights can remain on for an average of one to three hours allowing everyone to make a safe escape from the problem area.

But having emergency lighting in place is not enough, it should be regularly tested to ensure it works correctly; some emergency lighting contain rechargeable batteries and other components that may break over extended periods of time…it’s always better be safe than sorry especially when people rely on having a clearly lit escape route!

Emergency lighting is not just for helping people to escape but it also can be used to illuminate emergency equipment for staff or response personnel, such as fire extinguishers/floodlights which in turn can help to save lives.

When properly used emergency lighting has been proven to help and should be treated with the same regard as other emergency equipment.

Legislation for emergency lighting is constantly being amended to help protect people working in factories and offices that could potentially be at risk when power goes out and it is the responsibility of the designated individual and the owners of the premises to adhere.

Emergency lighting is used in conjunction with other safety equipment such as photo-luminescent tape, LED guide lights, illuminated exit signs to assist the evacuation of an office or factory.

Welcome to the SCL Direct blog, your source for all the news that’s new and approved for your perusal by the SCL Directors. Over the coming weeks, months and years we will use this little corner of the internet to keep you updated on what’s going on behind the scenes, new product ranges and other interesting snippets of information relating to the lighting industry.

Who are SCL Direct? Well, we’re an online retailer specialising in lighting products. Because we buy direct from the manufacturers this means we’re able to provide top quality products at fantastic prices by cutting out the middle man. This also means we find out about new products and new technologies literally as soon as they’ve been developed so we’re perfectly situated to keep you updated with any changes you may need to be aware of.

As well as selling lights we’re also able to prepare lighting schemes for a variety of purposes, from sports areas (such as football pitches or equestrian arenas) to industrial workshops and commercial workspaces. If you’re needing some advice on how to illuminate your environment feel free to get in touch with our house-trained lighting experts. They don’t bite (much) and will always give you the highest quality advice they can.

Whatever your lighting needs we’re sure SCL Direct can deliver, so whether you’re wanting advice on emergency lighting or a scheme for your office please contact us directly by e-mail or telephone and we’ll do what we can to help.