MAXiLIGHT SAVERS T5 & MAXiLIGHT REFLECTORS

As Australians demand reduction in CO2 emissions – green energy is being produced by our power utilities but this electricity production is much more expensive to generate – as a result we will be paying more for our power. The Commission for Energy Regulation has sanctioned a 19.7% average increase in the price of electricity effective from 1st January 2007. The increase will vary from 19.4% for domestic users to 19.6% for small and medium enterprises and 21% for large industrial customers.

One way to reduce electricity cost and CO2 emissions is to use energy efficient appliances and energy efficient lighting:



AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT IDENTIFIED PROBLEM:

In Australia, lighting represents around 12% of greenhouse gas emissions from households, and around 25% of emissions from the commercial sector.

Phase Out Of Inefficient Light Bulbs:
Working with its state and territory counterparts, the Australian Government will gradually phase out all inefficient light bulbs and is aiming for full enforcement of new lighting standards legislation by 2009 to 2010.



CASE STUDY 1: LOCAL GOVERNMENT GUIDE TO ENERGY EFFICIENT LIGHTING

Public lighting is the single largest source of local government's greenhouse gas emissions, typically accounting for 30 to 50% of their emissions. There are 1.94 million public lights - one for every 10 Australians - that annually cost $210 million, use 1,035 GWh of electricity and are responsible for 1.15 million tonnes of CO2 emissions.

There are many ways to improve lighting quality while reducing energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions to benefit from energy saving costs.

Source: http://www.greenhouse.gov.au/local/publiclighting



CURRENT LIGHTING ENERGY EFFICIENCY METHODS

Fluorescent tubes:

Fluorescent tubes are the most common type of lighting found in office buildings and worksites.
The main methods for saving energy with fluorescent fittings are:

    1. Reduce light levels where these exceed the requirements of the relevant standard.
    2. Turn the lamps off when not needed.
    3. Upgrade the lamps to better units.
    4. Refurbish the fittings to improve efficiency.
    5. Replace the fittings to improve efficiency.
    6. Add in control systems to automatically turn off lights, on the basis of daylight levels or occupancy.

All fluorescent luminaires use fluorescent lamps. The lamp contains mercury vapour that is excited to produce UV light when a current flows in the lamp. The UV light strikes white powder coating on the inside of the lamp wall, called phosphor, which re-emits visible light. The lamp current is controlled by a ballast which also provides the right conditions to start the lamp. The most common circuit, which is called 'switch start', uses a small plastic cylinder which causes the flicking observed when the lamp starts. As well as the lamp the ballast also consumes energy, with a standard ballast for a 36 W lamp consuming a further 9W or 25% energy.


 Power factor
The power the utility delivers is called apparent power. It is the vector sum of two components: active power (which does all the work in electrical devices) and reactive power (which does no work). The ratio of active power to apparent power is called the power factor.

MAXILIGHT Savers T5 have a power factor of 0.95 compared to existing T8 tubes with 0.5. Power factors below 0.6 are generally considered poor, while values above 0.9 are very good. For large installations, this makes the provision of electrical power more expensive as special measures need to be taken to bring the power factor closer to unity (1.0).


 Power harmonics
Fluorescent lamps are a non-linear load and generate harmonics on the 50 Hz or 60 Hz sinusoidal waveform of electrical power supply. This can generate radio frequency noise in some cases that distort the magnitude and wave shape of the current and voltage supply.  Harmonics can cause a range of minor to major problems with power-systems equipment and connected devices. These include over-heated capacitors, electric motors, and transformers; malfunction of computers and other electronic equipment; and interference on communication lines. Suppression of generation of harmonics is standard practice, but imperfect. Very good suppression is possible, but adds to the cost of the fluorescent fixtures.


 Audible Noise
Audible noise from a fluorescent light is likely due to a loose or faulty ballast. The ballast is an electrical device inside the lighting fixture that supplies the proper starting and operating power to the lamp. Noise can also be an indication that the ballast is about to fail. Ballasts normally last 10-20 years, but often become noisy just before they fail.

Electronic ballasts are inherently much quieter than older electromagnetic designs.


Figure 1: Diagrammatic representation of a switch start fluorescent tube circuit.

As fluorescent technology has advanced, the lamps have become smaller in diameter. The 38 mm lamp (known as a T12 lamp) was superseded 20 years ago by the 26 mm lamp (known as a T8 lamp), which required 10% less power to produce the same light output. Phosphors have also improved, with the latest version of the triphosphor lamp producing 50% more light at the end of its life than the cool white monophosphor lamp it replaced. The light is also of considerably better quality.

Most recently, new buildings are installing 16mm lamps (T5) which provide even greater energy efficiency of up to 40% and run exclusively on electronic ballasts. If a high frequency (electronic) ballast is used, the tube power is reduced for the same light output because the tube runs more efficiently. The total power including ballast losses is approximately the same as the lamp power alone with a conventional ballast.

Standard T5 lamps are not interchangeable with 38mm (T12) and 26mm (T8) lamps, so their use in retrofit applications is limited. However MAXILIGHT SAVERS T5 comes with an adapter with reflector suitable for universal fitting on old exiting T12 and T8 fittings which provide unbeatable amounts of light and save enormous amounts of electricity.



True or False? Fluorescent lamps use so much energy on start-up that they shouldn't be turned off.

A:  False. The energy used to start-up a fluorescent lamp is actually quite small, and certainly no justification for leaving the lights on. Indeed the main reason for not turning fluorescent lights on and off the same way you would a normal light bulb is lamp life. The life-span of a fluorescent lamp is affected by the number of times it is switched on and off. Thus a frequently switched tube will fail sooner than one that is switched rarely. However, lamps are cheap and the energy use of a tube during its lifetime is well over ten times its purchase cost. Taking all of these factors into account, you should turn off fluorescent lamps if you don't need them for 10 minutes or more.



COMPANY OVERVIEW:

At FL Electrical Contractors, we are committed to providing the highest quality electrical services with our goal on reducing greenhouse emissions from lighting throughout all industry sectors.

Our Goal Is Achieved In A Number Of Steps:
Assessing the work site
Conducting lux level comparison tests
Analysing current lighting power consumption
Determining the best economical solution
Implementing strategy effectively

As a reputable registered electrical contracting company, we are consistently engaged in projects for corporate organisations, schools, universities, councils, retail stores, churches, domestic, commercial and industrial sectors.



THE SOLUTION: OFFERED BY FL ELECTRICAL CONTRACTORS

Fluorescent lighting systems offer the potential for significant economic and environmental savings. This guide provides information to assist commercial and industrial businesses and local governments in the important needs of improving the lighting of their work site as well as to create awareness within their communities to reduce the current greenhouse emissions and lowering their electricity costs.

FL Electrical Contractors have researched and developed two unique energy saving and energy efficient products that have demonstrated outstanding results in all operating environments. The two products offer distinctive parallel benefits. These products are sold under the FL MAXiLIGHT trademark and solely distributed by FL Electrical Contractors Pty Ltd.

REGISTERED TRADEMARK

are a T5 Photoelectric-Integrative & Energy Saving fluorescent tube lamp that can take the place of T8 tube fluorescent lamp (inductive electronic type). The products are highly energy efficient products with an energy saving rating of up to 40% compared to standard fluorescent T8 tubes.


Distinctive Features of FL MAXiLIGHT Saver:

    1. High power factor 0.95 compared to existing T8 tube (0.5) with small harmonic content
    2. Brightness is improved by minimum 29% up to 59%, the luminous efficacy is up to 300Lm/w stronger
    3. Consumes less power
    4. Longer lamp life, up to 10,000 hours, lamp life are 2-3 times as much as T8 tubes (T8 have 5,000 hours max lamp life)
    5. Designed to retrofit into existing fluorescent systems resulting in greater savings
    6. Compatible with existing T8 & T12 fluorescent lamp fittings
    7. Slow deterioration and extremely low noise
    8. One time quick start and flicker free
    9. Be able to start and work stably in a wide voltage range (AC150V-265V, 56-60Hz)
  10. Operation temperature: -15oc to ~55oc
  11. No starter required for operation (adding to further cost savings) 
  12. Easy installation: Simply remove existing T8 fluorescent tube and starter and replace with MAXiLIGHT T5 Savers. No need to change existing lamp fixtures.





1. Universal fitting
2. Up to 86% more brightness when installed with existing T8 fluorescent tubes
3. Corrosion resistant
4. Effectively needing less fluorescent tubes (potentially reducing 50% power consumption)
5. Easy installation: Simply mount the clips provided to each end of the reflector then clip reflector to T8 fluorescent tube.
6. Heat Resistant Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS)
7. Withstanding temperature: −25°c to 60°c
8. Manufactured from recyclable material



PRODUCT COMPARISON CHART:

The following chart illustrates a direct comparison between Standard T8 Fluorescent lamps versus the key benefits of MAXILIGHT Savers T5.


*Rating based on economical and environmental savings and benefits of each individual unit. Electricity cost is calculated at 16c per KW/Hr. Brightness is compared in lumens. All tests conducted the same method under normal office lighting conditions. Results are approximate indication only. Actual figures may vary according to environment conditions, power supply and other external factors that could influence the results.


MULTI APPLICATIONS:

FL MAXILIGHT SAVERS T5 and MAXILIGHT REFLECTORS can be used for any indoor lighting applications in: offices, schools, hospitals, library, commercial buildings, restaurants, marketplace, supermarkets, airport, warehouses, shops, churches, homes, hotels, etc.

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