ELECTRICAL DISTRIBUTION
LITHIUM BATTERIES
THE NEW HOPE
The cost of maintenance can quickly outweigh installation costs when it comes to emergency lighting. Now, new advances in battery technology are changing that.
E
mergency lighting and exit signage are essential to ensure safe egress by building occupants when the normal lighting fails, including during a fire or other crisis. The right product selection has a significant effect on both the compliance outcome and the overall cost of ownership for the end user. Once installed, the cost of maintaining the emergency lighting system to ensure compliance has been a significant issue. In many cases, the maintenance cost exceeds the cost of installation when using old technology batteries including nickel-cadmium (NiCd), nickel-metal hydride (NiMH) and sealed lead acid (SLA). In short, the real costs begin after installation. With recent advancements in lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery technology, combined with some clever engineering design, the issues around high maintenance costs can be a thing of the past for building owners and facilities managers. It is important to note that different LFP batteries will produce large variations in maintenance cost savings; therefore, it is very important to ask manufacturers for actual
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site results before making a selection based on your requirements. As an example, Clevertronics has two ranges fitted with LFP products. The Lithium Premium (LP) range produces around 50% maintenance savings range compared to NiCd products, while the L10 Optimum range, fitted with Lithium Nanophosphate technology batteries, is able to produce an unmatched 85% in maintenance savings. Other benefits that can be achieved with select LFP products include energy savings of up to 80% and the important fact that lithium is a much safer option for humans and the environment due to the absence of dangerous toxic substances of cadmium, nickel and lead, which will be covered later in the article. To review the performance difference select LFP products can have over old technology batteries, a case study at Etihad Stadium was undertaken. Over three years ago, the Clevertronics L10 product range with Lithium Nanophosphate battery technology was installed on-site and is well on track to deliver an incredible saving of over $1 million during the seven-year maintenance period.
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