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Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 68
U
Member
Is there a regulation for wattage/min.height on O/Head fluorescent lighting?

For example, I'm replacing old fittings in a workshop for new. The fittings on the roof will be ok as they are approx. Min.5Mtrs. up, but the fittings above the workbenches are approx.2.8Mtrs. up. All the fittings are: 2x8ft tubes @ 100W/tube.

Thanks,

John U.



[This message has been edited by Uppeydog (edited 05-15-2006).]


All I Wanted Was A Cup Of Tea!!
Joined: Jul 2002
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John,
Why not go with some T5 fittings?.
I'm not aware off-hand of anny minimum hieghts, but I do know there are minimum lux levels for most types of work.
Using a T5 system, you can have the fittings a lot higher off the floor.
You also (if used in an industrial situation) have no problems with strobo-scopic effect.
You also have a lower wattage per fitting and therefore, less heat loss, as there is no wire-wound ballast to power as there is only a High Frequency Ballast, no starters to wear out and the tubes last longer.
The best part about these fittings is the fact that they give a higher output (lumens/watt) than any other light source currently on the market.
The T5 tube was designed with a new Tri-phosphor mix in the tubes.(No Mercury either)
These are slowly taking on Metal-Halide lamps for a preferred light source in a lot of applications.
They are so light-wieght (as opposed to the bulk of the M-H control gear) and virtually maintenance-free, it would be a crime to specify anything less.
This is just my own opinion.

Joined: Aug 2001
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I can't think of anything specific about mounting heights, unless there's something in one of the numerous Health & Safety at Work Acts which would be enforced by H.S.E. in a commercial workshop.

Even so, I can't see fluoros at over 9 ft. above the benches being a problem.

Joined: Feb 2006
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Here in the UK 8ft 125w/100w/85w tubes are being slowly phased out it is now reccommended to use up to 6ft and some stores are using T5 1200MM in banks of 3 with great effect.

Joined: Aug 2001
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Ah! I hadn't realized that there were plans to phase out 8 ft. fluoros, but I've noticed that the range of fittings available in that length seems to have gotten smaller recently.

Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 68
U
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Thanks for those replies..excellent! These T5 units sound great.

I've allready completed the job, .....but pity I didn't put the question forward before I started!
I didn't know this size fitting was being phased out......SO THAT'S WHY WE GOT THE LOT FOR NOTHING!!!
I collected a couple of pallets full, 30 fittings..all full of rain water as they were left out-side. Stripped them all down,
left them all spread out in the scorching Scottish sun, tested them all.. (I thought I better put that in before you start shouting at me!). Only had to bin one.

So when the foreman starts to annoy me about something, I'll just casually say,"well the lights look great, pity they'll only do for a couple of years!!"

I won't tell him in the next couple of weeks
as lay-offs are looming!!


All I Wanted Was A Cup Of Tea!!
Joined: Jan 2005
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Cat Servant
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Lighting design- at once the most mundane and most exacting part of the trade!

There are sundry references giving you the amount of light you should have in differing areas. There are two problems with these tables, though:
-You never have a way of measuring "foot-candles" ; and,
- You never have the information you need to define the work area properly!

The tables also fail to recognise that, with lighting, quality is even more important that quantity.

Probably the best example I've seen of poor lighting design was a custom kitchen, done entirely with recessed lights. While ther was a tremendous amount of light on the counter-tops, the room had a "cave" feel to it, as there was little light bouncing off the walls.

Likewise, this town has many warehouses lit inside with Sodium HID. While a 'light meter' will tell you there's plenty of light, the yellow light is simply awful for reading lables and doing paperwork. Eyestrain is not a good thing.

As for mounting heigth, this is a design issue.
You want the lights high enough that they don't get hit by goods being moved about.
The downside is that, the higher they are, the more lights are needed to get the desired foot-candles on the workspace. It is also harder to change the bulbs.


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