Sparks Electrical News June 2020

LIGHTING

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New addition to OMNIblast-E family

T he new, compact OMNIblast-E Midi from BEKA Schréder is the ideal tool for sports venues and other large area applications that require a lighting solution with the highest efficiency and flexibility to adapt to the different lighting needs. Available in Midi and Maxi variants, the OMNIblast-E offers an alternative with proven benefits for traditional fixtures fitted with 250 W to 2000WHID lamps. The OMNIblast-E meets various lighting applications, ranging from general area lighting to recreational sports lighting up to professional broadcasting requirements, matching the horizontal and vertical lighting levels respectively. A modular concept of optical units means that one, two or three modules can be mounted on a similar bracket arrangement to offer the

utmost versatility, providing light distributions and lumen packages perfectly adapted to the specifications of the area to be lit. The OMNIblast-E guarantees a perfect glare control, a high colour rendering index (CRI) and meets the required television lighting consistency index (TLCI), as well as providing flicker-free lighting. The OMNIblast-E is available with cool white LEDs (5700 K) or neutral white LEDs (4000 K) to meet various sports specifications offering either static or dynamic effects. Key advantages of the OMNIblast-E include: • Manufactured in South Africa. • Cost-effective and efficient solution to max- imise energy and maintenance savings.

• Marine grade, high-pressure die-cast alu- minium housing. • Designed for easy technology upgrade (FutureProof). • Meeting international sport federation light- ing regulations. • Flexibility: modular approach for high-power applications (one to one replacement for up to 2000 W HID lamps). • Compliant with UHD/HD/4K broadcast and super slow-motion replays (flicker-free). • Instant switch on/off (static) – dynamic op- tional setting to create dramatic or theatrical effects. • Inclination angle adjustable on-site. • Surge protection 10 kV/10 Ka.

Enquiries: +27 (0)11 238 0000

Is blue light hazardous?

8 Effects of the pandemic on the lighting industry

S everal times a year, an article – typically based on a research study – is published warning consumers about the potential health risks of exposure to blue light produced by LED lighting. The International Commis- sion on Illumination (CIE) has responded with reassurances that people are normally not at risk from general white- light sources, including LEDs. Because customers may ask electrical contractors about the so-called ‘blue light hazard,’ electrical contractors should be aware of the issue. On the electromagnetic spectrum, optical radiation resides between ultraviolet and infrared radiation, with wavelengths ranging from 200 to 3 000 nanometers (nm). In turn, the visible light spectrum comprises bands of wavelengths often associated with colour perception across the rainbow. 'Blue,' for example, resides at around 400-500 nm, peaking at 435-440 nm. Electric white- light sources emit a combination of wavelengths at varying intensities and almost always contain some blue content, which is necessary for visual appearance and colour ren- dering. The amount of blue content in the spectral emis- sion is a determinant in the light source’s correlated colour temperature (CCT), a metric used to describe the visual ap- pearance of a light source and its emission. The International Commission on Non-Ionising Radiation Protection defines 'blue light hazard' as damage to the eye’s retina caused by staring into bright light sources, such as the sun and welding arcs. The phenomenon was discovered in the 1970s. This term has more recently been appropriated to describe retinal damage and the influence on general well- being resulting from use of lighting, notably LEDs. Why LED? The majority of white-light LED sources fea- ture blue LEDs coated with a phosphor that converts the emission into white light. The blue pump causes a spike in light energy produced at short wavelengths, which – as one would expect – is pronounced with lamps with a higher CCT. A number of studies have connected adverse effects with white-light sources. Most of these studies were based on unusual conditions, however, such as a very high CCT or long-term exposure to the light. For a white-light source to emit blue light at levels high enough to approach the blue light hazard exposure limit, it would have to be extremely bright – bright enough to cause discomfort glare, which triggers a natural avoidance response in people; they sim- ply blink or turn away from it. Additionally, the portion of

blue spectral content in the LED light emission is not signifi- cantly higher than traditional light sources at the same CCT, according to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). As for claims that blue light exposure may be linked to the risk of age-related macular degeneration, CIE called them unsup- ported and speculative. According to an April 2019 position statement from CIE: “Practical assessments [of lamps] have shown that the blue light hazard exposure limits are not exceeded under all rea- sonably foreseeable use conditions. Furthermore, the expo- sure levels are often lower than experienced from viewing a blue sky.” In a June 2013 fact sheet, DOE similarly concluded: “LED products are no more hazardous than other lighting tech- nologies that have the same CCT. Furthermore, white-light products used in general lighting service applications are not considered a risk for blue light hazard according to cur- rent international standards.” However, CIE cautioned against long-term, continuous exposure to optical radiation levels that approach the blue light hazard limit. While this level of exposure is unlikely with white-light general lighting, it may be possible with light sources that primarily produce blue light. An example is bright blue indicator lights in children’s toys, which should be avoided. Though there is a relationship between blue light and circadian response, the term ‘blue light hazard’ does not apply to it. Concerns about blue light have led the Ameri- can Medical Association to recommend warmer CCTs for street lighting. These concerns also stimulated the develop- ment of new products. Some manufacturers are developing 3 000 K CCT sources with suppressed spectral emission between 475 and 495 nm (‘cyan gap’). One line of troffers features a chip that switches from a blue to a violet pump at night. UL is now certifying lamps and luminaires that of- fer less than 2% blue content. Research by the Lighting Re- search Center, however, suggests that blue light has less of an impact on circadian rhythms than quantity and duration of light exposure. Based on the CIE statement, LED lighting does not ma- jorly contribute to blue light hazard, though circadian re- sponse to short-wavelength light will continue to be inves- tigated, characterised and the source of evolving guidelines.

T he lighting industry, already in the throes of a painful adjustment to a post-LED world, has been thrown into further tur- moil by the COVID-19 pandemic. Ray Molony predicts eight ways the crisis could change the sector. Shuji Nakamura’s invention of the blue LED in 1993 swept away many of the lighting indus- try’s most treasured certainties: a high barrier to entry, the lucrative replacement lampmarket, significant product differentiation and, crucially, healthy profit margins. For most of the 2000s, CEOs and execu- tives have been scrambling to restructure their businesses to reflect the new reality. Much of this re-engineering was reactive, painful and incomplete. Already it’s painfully clear that the Covid-19 crisis of 2020 will make a more dramatic and longer-lasting impression on the sector than Nakamura’s discovery almost 30 years ago. Here are eight of the most immedi- ate effects. We’ll lose some familiar brands The ‘creative destruction’ of the free market will accelerate. Put simply, not every company is going to make it through this period. Firms that are indebted or financially fragile will fold, despite continuity loans and job retention pro- grammes. Big brands will benefit from a flight to quality ‘We’re putting iGuzzini on tenders now and we never did that before’, says one contractor. It’s a sensible policy – big brands with financial mus- cle will be around in the coming years to provide support to projects before and after installation. Company owners will focus on basics When your focus is on shifting your inven- tory and trying to get enough cash together for the end-of-the-month payroll, your interest

in things like websites and product innovation goes out the window.

Payment terms will lengthen In a crisis, cash in king. No wonder contractors, OEMs and others along the supply chain are demanding longer payment terms. The danger to a supplier is if they allow terms to slip from 30 days to 120 days, it will be difficult to reverse. Local production will be an advantage With a disrupted supply chain, local production will obviously be a benefit. But this advantage can be overplayed – the industry’s reliance on China is huge. And if we’ve learned one thing in recent years, it’s that clients want cheap lu- minaires. The tech savvy will prosper It goes without saying that companies without cloud-based accounting, business communica- tion and customer relationship management (CRM) platforms will struggle to adjust to a working-from-home model. We’ll have to respond to changing sectors The industry has been driven by three key sec- tors in recent years: retail, office and hospitality. The latter will probably stage a tentative bounce back, but the office and retail sectors could per- manently contract. Logistics may take up some of the slack. Interest in UV-C will rise Interest in ultraviolet lighting, once dismissed as a niche, has soared during the crisis. Specifically, the focus is on UV-C which has viricidal prop- erties and scientists confirm can kill the coro- navirus. However, UV-C is dangerous to human health in the wrong hands.

Enquiries: www.cie.co.at

Enquiries: www.luxreview.com

SPARKS ELECTRICAL NEWS

JUNE 2020