LightBytes
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series we look at topics such as the responsibilities as set out in the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 and BS 52661:2016 Part 1, the requirements for emergency lighting outside the building and technology advances. A particularly crucial area is testing and maintenance. Testing and maintenance are essential to ensuring that your system is maintained in an efficient state, in working order and in good state of repair. For the responsible person, this falls within his or her duties under the RRO 2005. However, the RRO does not give specific details on how testing should be undertaken and to what frequency this should be carried out. To fully comply with the legislation, the responsible person must be able to produce records that can show the system is maintained and in good working condition. The best way to demonstrate that your responsibilities have been carried out is to follow the suggestions for testing and logbooks as set out in BS 5266 and BS EN 50172. Any emergency system should have a monthly function test to check
‘A particularly crucial area is testing and maintenance, which is essential to ensuring that your system is maintained in an efficient state, in good working order’ all luminaires are working correctly should there be an emergency situation. Once a year, a full duration test is required to be sure your emergency installation is capable of lasting its full duration. If your system/luminaires fails either of these tests, then maintenance would be required to rectify this, whether it be checking a battery charge circuit, replacement of failed light sources or replacement of failed batteries. Specifically looking at replacement of batteries, care must be taken to replace failed batteries with compatible new batteries – and that should take into account cell chemistry, charging method, even the physical size of the replacement batteries. This is something that some business owners and employers may not be aware is one of their responsibilities and could quite easily be overlooked. However, the impact of failure on people safety's cannot be understated.
LightBytes venues and dates The MAC, Belfast: 29 November Bluecoat, Liverpool: 24 January The Hospitium, York: 28 February The Engine Shed, Bristol: 28 March The Royal Society of Edinburgh: 25 April The Royal Society, London: 9 May For full details go to: www.cibse.org/society-of-light-andlighting-sll/sll-lightbytes-series
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LightBytes: Internet of Things
Graeme Shaw (Zumtobel Group) Today’s cities consume 78 per cent of the world’s energy, and the steady increase in population is set to reach more than 8bn by 2030. Smart cities rely on smart technology, and lighting can be the mainstay of the connected infrastructure of smart cities, providing services management and security for inhabitants. This connected infrastructure will create operational efficiencies, reducing energy consumption, improving occupant experiences, achieving sustainability goals, and effectively optimising financial performance. Street lighting contributes to the largest proportion of the municipal energy bill, while a massive number of assets also introduces high maintenance costs. Smart street light enables intelligent on/off switching according to fixed time, solar calendar and environmental illumination conditions, reducing energy consumption by up to 50 per cent. Meanwhile, maintenance efficiency is maximised as real-time fault detection and alarm notification negates the need for routine inspection. Fault notification also informs the operation centre of the nature of the fault so that the engineer is prepared with the right parts for the task. Realtime monitoring and flexible lighting configuration increases customer satisfaction and security. Another benefit for road users will be the super-sized outdoor parking lot equipped with parking sensors and featuring a car-find feature. An easy extension to support premium services such as reserved parking will also be available. This technology means that less staff are required, utility rates and revenue go up by 25 per cent and time consumption is reduced by 75 per cent. Lighting has undergone a revolution in the past few years with the rapid growth in the use of LEDs as a prime source, with all the well-known concomitant benefits. However, the focus has been on the light source and not necessarily on how we control and regulate light – or how we make wider use of the lighting infrastructure. Now that focus is changing as the IoT opens the door for lighting networks to play a significantly broader role in smart cities. In the next issue, fourth LightBytes speaker Roger Sexton of Xicato will take a more in-depth look at retrofit and upgrade in the context of historical buildings.