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FIRE SERVICE AND GENERAL FIRE SAFETY TOPICS => Fire Safety => Topic started by: nearlythere on January 21, 2013, 08:40:46 AM

Title: Emergency Lighting upgrading
Post by: nearlythere on January 21, 2013, 08:40:46 AM
Going to throw this one into the ring for a knockabout.

60M x 60M warehouse, 15M high. Existing EL twin spots obstructed by high racking throughout.

Units need moved up on to high level, above racking, tray runing round the walls of the warehouse.

Want to provide EL around periphery at aisle ends only so luminance may not be sufficient to hit all areas of aisle.

If the  existing EL units are 3hr and we only need 1 hr and the battery duration is relative to the wattage, is it feasible to uppgrade wattage of bulb x 3 to increase the luminance output?

Could this also be applied to EL for treatment rooms by using a 3hr unit with a much higher wattage bulb which could give the requisit 50lx for 30 mins?
Title: Re: Emergency Lighting upgrading
Post by: Wiz on January 21, 2013, 09:14:35 AM
There are other things to take into account that might make your proposal impractical, N.T.

One of them is increased current drawn and the potential problems of additional heat created by the increased current. (will the unit's wring/enclosure take it?).
Title: Re: Emergency Lighting upgrading
Post by: lancsfirepro on January 21, 2013, 09:15:59 AM
You mean you want to use a product in a way that is different to the manufacturer's specification and design?  Can see the headlines now... "Warehouse fire due to jimmied emergency lighting"   :D
Title: Re: Emergency Lighting upgrading
Post by: nearlythere on January 21, 2013, 09:20:16 AM
There are other things to take into account that might make your proposal impractical, N.T.

One of them is increased current drawn and the potential problems of additional heat created by the increased current. (will the unit's wring/enclosure take it?).
Thanks Wiz. That was something I was thinking could be an issue.
Title: Re: Emergency Lighting upgrading
Post by: John Webb on January 21, 2013, 12:38:37 PM
I've a nasty feeling that the capacity of a battery, and therefore it's duration, is dependent upon the rate at which current is drawn. So that if you take three times the design current, it will not achieve a one-hour discharge but will be substantially shorter. (Something to do with the chemistry taking place in the cell?)

But if you were to substitute LED bulbs with a much higher efficiency and the same wattage as what I assume are currently filament bulbs, you might achieve both increased illumination and a 3 hr duration!