Embracing TECHNOLOGY
exceptional lifetime. Industry leading
LED solutions with custom integrated
power supplies have L70 rated lifetimes
– a measurement of when the xture's
initial lumen output reaches 70 percent
and the recommended time for
replacing facility lighting – of greater
than 100,000 hours and warranted
periods of 10 years. In contrast, HID
and uorescent xtures have rated
lifetimes between 16,000 hours (metal
halide) and 24,000 hours (highpressure
sodium). While uorescent
manufacturers in particular have
directed engineering efforts towards
extending lamp lifetimes and are now
offering solutions with lifetimes up to
45,000 hours, premature failures
remain a problem in mining
applications where extreme vibration
and widely uctuating ambient
temperatures are present.
e longevity and reliability of LED
lighting has a twofold safety advantage.
First, it ensures that facility lighting
levels stay within recommended
guidelines throughout the xtures'
lifetime. e Illuminating Engineering
S o ciety of Nor t h Amer ica s ets
standards for lighting levels depending
on the application, and these standards
play an important role in ensuring
safety across multiple areas of a mine.
In contrast to LEDs, metal halide lamps
suffer dramatic lumen depreciation in
their rst six months of operation and
therefore run the risk that light levels
will drop to potentially dangerous
levels.
RELIABILITY AND LONGEVITY
Second, LED's reliability and longevity
gre at ly reduce t he s afety r isks
associated with maintenance activities.
With conventional lamps requiring
frequent replacement – as oen as
every few months despite a muchlonger rated performance –
maintenance crews are more oen
exposed to situations with elevated
safety risks. Luminaries are frequently
mounted in hard to access areas where
crews are required to tie-off or where
operations must temporarily be
suspended.
In hazardous locations, maintenance
crews also oen require specialized
equipment to perform relamping
activities. LED lighting's reliability and
10-plus years of lifetime eliminate the
need to perform such maintenance
tasks and is the best way to improve
safety by effectively removing the risk
altogether.
C ompared to other traditional
technologies, LED lighting also has the
bene t of being easy to control. is is
especially true for xtures with inhouse designed and integrated power
supplies and for manufacturers who
account for additional safety bene ts
like emergency battery backup models
when designing new products. In the
case of loss of power, emergency
battery backup models will illuminate
exit pathways. Since LEDs are lowwattage solutions, they are able to
provide brighter illumination for
longer periods when compared to
traditional lighting xtures with
battery backup. LED's instant-on
ability also avoids the warm-up and
re st r i ke probl e ms e x p e r i e nc e d
withHID xtures.
QUALITY OF LIGHT
e quality of lig ht is another
important point where LEDs have a
clear safety advantage over traditional
HID lighting. With Color Rendering
Index (CRI) values between 70 and 90
on a 100 point scale, personnel are
better able to distinguish true colors
and prevent mistakes which may cause
injuries.
is can be crucial when workers must
identify different colored wires, safety
plaques, liquids, smoke or other
obj e c t s . Work i ng u nd e r L E D ' s
daylight-quality light also provides a
more comfortable environment with
less eyestrain, which in turn helps
workers maintain alertness.
O n t h e ot h e r h an d, nu m e rou s
traditional light sources struggle when
it comes to color quality. For example,
high pressure sodium lamps have CRIs
between 20 and 30 and are infamous
for their orange colored light while
mercury vapor's bluish-green light also
d i s t or t s c o l or s t h at c a n c au s e
potentially dangerous scenarios.
FMDZ | May - June 2016
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