Friday, August 3, 2012

DOE Report Compares Environmental Impacts of LEDs, Incandescent and CFL

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has published a report that looks at the direct and indirect material and process inputs to fabricate, ship operate and dispose of LED lamps, compared with incandescent lamps and CFLs.
Among the key findings of the report, entitled LED Manufacturing and Performance are:
  • Electricity consumption over an equivalent period of lighting service is far greater for the incandescent lamp and is the dominant contributor to environmental impacts.
  • Because of its low efficacy, the incandescent lamp is the most environmentally harmful of the three lamp types considered, across all 15 impact measures.
  • The CFL is slightly more harmful than the 2012 LED lamp (today's LED technology) on all impact measures except hazardous waste landfill, where the LED lamp's large aluminum heat sink causes greater impact because of the energy and resources consumed in manufacturing it (which produces significant waste disposed of in landfills).
  • The best-performing light source is the LED lamp projected for 2017, whose prospective impacts are expected to be about 50 percent lower than the 2012 LED lamp and 70 percent lower than the CFL.
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LED Light Bulbs

Product Safety: Don’t Let Your Design Get Red-Flagged

Say the word “codes” and many lighting professionals quickly think of the 90.1 or IECC energy codes. But there are other codes that lighting designers must also be familiar with, such as the NEC (National Electrical Code) or the CEC (Canadian Electrical Code), or whatever electrical code is in force in the region where the design is to be installed. And to complicate the situation, lighting designers must have a working knowledge of the applicable safety standards that prevail for the products they specify. Jerry Plank, CEO/founder of Wilger Testing, takes a deeper dive into some of these product compliance questions.

In the U.S., ANSI/UL safety standards are used to determine whether a product is compliant or not, and eligible to bear an NRTL (Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory) “Listed” mark. Failure to adhere to the applicable electrical code and safety standards will result in an unsuccessful project which will impact your reputation and your bottom line because you will be forced to spend valuable time trying to remove a violation (red flag) issued by an electrical inspector.

To help designers understand how a product or project could get red-flagged or derailed for non-compliance, Plank lists five key areas of concern:

1.Equipment selection. To be code-compliant, equipment selected must be listed by an NRTL and mounted as tested. Many times we see surface products that are semi-recessed in the field to reduce the exposure of the luminaire, which does not reflect upon how the product was tested by the NRTL. All municipal electrical inspectors have learned that when a luminaire listing, or its usage, is questionable, they will go directly to the NRTL that listed the product to ensure that what they are looking at was in fact tested and qualified. Make no mistake, if the lighting fixture was modified to suit your project, the modification needs to be qualified by the NRTL as an alternate construction or installation method and you should insist on getting a copy of the NRTL report to protect your interest.

2.Using newer technology. While it is not the intent of this article to prevent new technologies from being used, it is extremely important to receive objective evidence (i.e., a certification letter, or the like) from the manufacturer that the product selected is in fact listed by an NRTL, and meets with the intent of the NEC and the CEC. The revision cycle for each version of those two codes is three years, which means it’s possible that the new technology is not included in the prevailing version of the code. When a new technology is not addressed by the NEC or CEC, the decision whether to accept it or not is up to the municipal electrical inspectors and they are often reluctant to accept a new technology without a field inspection by a qualified NRTL. Field inspections by an NRTL to verify that the combination of the product and installation are compliant are costly and add significant delays to any project. The preferable path with a specified product is to ensure that the listing is up to date and addresses the new technology.

3.Equipment installation and wiring. The next item to address for potential red flags is the installation and wiring of lighting equipment in the field. On the surface it would seem logical that it’s the responsibility of the electrical contractor to follow local codes and practices to ensure that the installation is compliant and safe from reasonable risks. Potential problems occur whenever the product selected is not capable of mounting in a certain way to accommodate the project and requires a modification to accept conduit or the like, or special wiring is needed to facilitate the installation. Keep in mind that any modification of the NRTL-listed product for mounting and/or wiring requires a field inspection by an NRTL.

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4.Controls. Any use of controls must be addressed to prevent red flags. Simply put, controls must be listed by an NRTL and suitable for the product to which they are connected. Get copies of the relevant NRTL reports which will contain restrictions, if any, and how the wiring should be installed. While at times it seems expeditious to mix low-voltage and line-voltage in the same enclosure, know in advance what is allowed and what isn’t. Don’t leave the wiring decision up to the electrical contractor or assume that the claims made by the controls manufacturer are point of fact; investigate how the wiring shall be connected. An installation of low-voltage controls came under question recently by a municipal electrical inspector where line and low voltage were mixed in the wall junction electrical box. It took almost two weeks of investigation to determine that the wiring connected to the low-voltage circuit was acceptable as the rating was 300 volts; however, the project was red-flagged and stalled without cause.

5.Electrical codes and practices by region. Don’t assume which version of the NEC or CEC codes has been adopted in the region where the project will be installed. Every municipality has the right to adopt the current edition of the NEC or CEC, a previous edition of the NEC or CEC, create their own electrical code, or adopt a nationally published code with regional variances. Too many projects get rejected because the NRTL listing applied to an ANSI/UL safety standard which did not address local practices. Always verify what electrical code has been adopted in the region where the project is installed and what local variances, if any, should be addressed.

LED Color Temperature made easy

Cool (5000K)
Cool light provides maximum light output, is best for non color-critical applications, and looks like "moonlight."

Neutral (4000K)
Neutral Light provides good light output, excellent color rendering and looks like "daylight."

Warm (3000K)
Warm light provides less light output, excellent color rendering and looks more like "incandescent."

Color temperature simplified.
Correlated Color Temperature (CCT) refers to the color appearance of a light source, ranging from cool (blue) to warm (yellow). Essentially, CCT, measured by the Kelvin scale, describes the way we perceive light.

Nominal CCT

Because the exact kelvin value of each LED can vary slightly from one to the next, nominal CCT defines an allowable range of variation. These variations are so slight that they are hardly noticeable to the human eye, which means that two LEDs may have slightly different CCTs, while still being defines as having the same Nominal CCT.
Perception is a powerful thing.
Color Rendering Index 9CR) measures a light source's ability to show colors "realistically" compared to a standard reference source. LEDs with the maximum CRI value of 100 would produce an extremely natural-looking environment.
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Why Choose Cooper Lighting?

Comprised of seven operating divisions manufacturing thousands of well-known products used around the world each day, Cooper Industries is a global partner like no other. The company, built on a rock-solid foundation of more than 100 years of industry expertise, understands that each market faces a unique set of problems and consistently strives to develop cost-effective solutions. Throughout its rich history, that hard work and dedication has helped the company grow, allowing for expansion across five continents. A true global partner, Cooper Industries has more than 140 locations worldwide with manufacturing plants in 23 different countries. Cooper products have been translated into more than 20 different languages and can now be purchased in more than 100 countries. Cooper’s global footprint has helped the company continue to expand and serve additional markets in nearly all corners of the world. Cooper’s growth further validates its dedication to its customers ensuring companies that wherever their business may take them; Cooper will always be by their side.
Cooper’s reliable and industry-certified products, commitment to helping its customers, drive to reinvest in innovative technologies and global manufacturing base make it uniquely positioned to locally serve even the most remote facilities.
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