.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
Why are rational and intelligent individuals still designing and installing yesterday's lighting technology? Why do owners of buildings accept to pay thousands of dollars per month for energy, which is a total waste? Why do authorities not legislate about energy saving?
The answers are simple. Many people are not informed about today's technical developments and achievements. And many focus on low initial investment costs and do not consider future operation and maintenance costs.
Riyadh-based Saudi Lighting can provide savings of up to 70 per cent of energy consumption in lighting installation, while achieving a lighting comfort which will increase employees' productivity and well-being - good lighting makes individuals more efficient and healthier.
During 1999, and with an even greater emphasis this year, Saudi Lighting has been marketing a comprehensive product range for energy-efficient interior fluorescent lighting fixtures including dimming and control systems.
HFE ballasts
The new technology is based on High Frequency Electronic (HFE) ballasts. These control systems allow the use of latest developments in energy-saving lamp technology and high utilisation of optical systems.
HFE ballasts make it possible to produce creative and energy-efficient lighting solutions. With fully-electronic digital control systems in connection with infra-red sensors, daylight sensors or a building management system (BMS), energy consumption and lighting quality can easily be optimised.
Although it is new technology in the regional markets, it has a proven track record in Europe, where today the majority of new installations are based on HFE ballasts.
Saudi Arabia is now rapidly assimilating these developments and Saudi Lighting has, or is currently, delivering energy-efficient lighting systems to major projects such as Hilton Hotels, Prince Sultan City for Humanitarian Services, Riyadh Technical College, Al Faisaliah Center, National Guard Hospital, Arabian Oil Company, Harvey Nichols department store, Kingdom Hospital and Saudi Aramco Shell Refinery.
Electronic ballasts, like wound chokes, are current-limiting devices. The use of electronics allows more sophisticated control and enhanced quality of light - features that would not be possible with wound chokes.
Electronic ballasts run fluorescent lamps at high frequency (40-100 kHz) which ensures the lamp current is virtually constant, unlike wound chokes where the lamp current is interrupted 100 times a second at 50 Hz. This, obviously, gives greater visual comfort and 'cathode flicker' is eliminated, even at low temperatures.
In addition, the dangerous stroboscopic effect associated with rotating machinery is eliminated. At start up, there is no annoying flicker or noise and, if a lamp is defective, it will be shutdown automatically without causing any further disturbance.
High-frequency operation permits more energy to be converted into light and between 7 and 11 per cent less power is required for the same light output.
Electronic ballasts are much more efficient than wound chokes and, therefore, run cooler - not only reducing losses but lowering the temperature in the luminaire. The lamp is allowed to run nearer its optimum operating temperature of 25 deg C.
The total savings are dependent on the individual lamp but wound chokes use 30 per cent more energy than the equivalent electronic ballast.
Because the lamp is run under exactly the right conditions and a softstart is used, practical experience has shown increased lamp life.
Features of electronic ballasts and advantages of using them include:
Electronic ballasts, such as those from Tridonic, a global company, have a designed mean service life of 50,000 hours at a maximum ambient temperature of 60 deg C and this is achieved by using only the highest quality components and by conducting a rigorous testing programme.
To maintain the reputation Tridonic's PC range of electronic ballasts has earned, 100 per cent of production has a multistage testing programme including a thermal function testing programme.
Lighting solutions
DigitalDIM, a dimming system owned by Tridonic, enables creative lighting solutions to be produced. With fully electronic digital control gear such as PCA ballasts and TEL transformers, a range of lamps can be dimmed on demand.
By means of digital control devices like the DSI (Digital Serial Interface) units and sensors, individual installations can be realised. >From simple control with push-to-make switches, to more complex control using BMS, digitalDIM covers an extensive range of requirements, guaranteeing maximum flexibility.
Different light sources can be dimmed digitally and therefore exactly with digitalDIM, satisfying the requirements of optimal lighting level and adjusted for individual lighting needs. The digital ballasts and transformers utilise a logarithmic dimming curve, that is adjusted to the requirements of the human eye.
The human eye is very sensitive in the range of 0 to 10 per cent, where irregular or sudden changes are uncomfortable. The unique digital concept with the logarithmic curve provides a comfortable change between 0 and 100 per cent.
Together with the precise digital control provided by the DSI and DALI (Digital Addressable Lighting Interface) units, the fully electronic PCA ballasts and TEL transformers have the technological means to provide perfect lighting quality.
A specially-developed ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) and modern power electronics, together with DSI and DALI units provide total lighting control. Unlike the 1-10 V system which uses analogue signals, the system uses digital 8bit code, eliminating all the disadvantages of the older analogue system and providing new and enhanced lighting control.
Simple push-to-make switches can be used to switch, dim and even programme lighting installations.
With the digitalDIM system energy savings of up to 70 per cent are possible. Such high savings come from both the economical operation of the lamp and from linking of the PCA ballasts and TEL transformers with sensors.
Through the use of high-grade components, digitalDIM units have a mean service life of 50,000 hours within the permissible temperature range and a MTBF (mean time before failure) value of 400,000 hours. In addition, lamp life will be positively influenced by the use of the digitalDIM system.
Long-term tests show that through the use of optimised warm start of the lamp (pre-heating of the cathodes), the switching frequency of the lamp can be increased dramatically compared with cold start. The exact digital control of brightness and power means that operation in the dimmed mode has no negative influence on lamp life.
The digitalDIM units have comprehensive safety features. The PCA is constantly monitoring its own performance and the lamp's - defective lamps will automatically be shut down and automatically restarted after lamp change.
All digitalDIM PCA ballasts and TEL transformers meet all relevant European norms for safety, performance, quality and EMC (including RFI, harmonics) and are certified by European testing authorities.
The unique fully-electronic digitalDIM components provide a basis for the perfect lighting control system.