Sparks Electrical News March 2021

LIGHTING

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I n the South African market, all electronic equipment either manufac- tured locally or imported from overseas needs to adhere to and com- ply with certain compulsory regulations set out by the National Regu- lator of Compulsory Specifications (NRCS) in order for them to be sold in the South African market. These goods go through a series of tests to ensure the safety and energy efficiency of the electrical apparatus which, in turn, protects the health and safety of the consumer. After the inspec- tion has been completed and it is found that the item is deemed safe to use in the South African market, an LOA (Letter of Authority) is issued for the particular item. No electrical goods can be sold legally in South Africa without a valid LOA in place. As for luminaires, according to the VC 8055 document published by Government on the 6 th of February 2009, there are a few exclusions LOA requirements in South Africa

compliant products and giving them the opportunity to take voluntary corrective action. If this is not done, they then report the non-compli- ance to the NRCS in order to stop the sale of such products. The company would like to strongly advise its distributors only to buy electrical products from suppliers who are members of SAFEhouse seeing as SAFEhouse members take on the pledge to abide by the SAFEhouse code of conduct and only supply goods which are NRCS approved. Spazio Lighting would also like to motivate suppliers to become members and take on the fight against substandard and non-conform- ing products and practices existing in the South African market.

Furthermore, they also sell the goods to their distributors in parts, once again circumventing the LOA requirement. Unfortunately, in doing so the supplier passes on the Legal Liability for an LOA to you, the reseller who, unaware of the liability, supplies the product to the consumer which might have a long-term effect and deem installations to be illegal if inspected. In this instance, the electrician becomes the manufacturer or as- sembler and therefore strictly, according to regulations, the electrician is responsible for the compliance of the product and should acquire an LOA and pay the levies to the NRCS which, in most cases, is not done. Spazio Lighting is a member of SAFEhouse SA, a non-profit industry organisation that investigates and acts on reports of non-compliance in the lighting and electrical industry by firstly notifying a supplier of non-

Enquiries: www.spaziolighting.com

in terms of LOA requirements for luminaires, and these include luminaires imported as parts and not as complete products. Spazio Lighting has become aware that certain suppliers have taken on the habit of importing and selling downlighters in parts, ie, where the lamp holders are sold separately from the body of the fit- ting. By adopting this practice, the importer is clear- ing the goods through customs as parts instead of a complete product and thus there is no need to obtain an LOA certificate. Sanitising light: busting the myths Y ou may have seen UV light being used as a sanitiser even before the pandemic – perhaps being used to clean tools at your local salon or as part of a pricey cellphone-sanitising gadget. You have also probably been told that UV rays of the type generated by the sun and tanning beds can be dangerous, damaging our DNA and prematurely ageing our skin and eyes. UVC is also known as germicidal UV and includes wavelengths from 200–280 nm. This form of UV sterilisation has been in use for decades in applica- tions such as water treatment and surface disinfec- tion. The great news is that filtered far-UVC falls in this spectrum and is therefore both extremely ef- fective against pathogens and harmless to humans. Research released by the US Food & Drug Admin- istration suggests that filtered far-UVC effectively destroys the outer protein of airborne coronaviruses without the same risk of skin damage that typical UV light poses. Though it is often associated with a trademark pur- ple glow, UV light, including filtered far-UVC, is invis- ible to the human eye, and will not bother employees in the workplace. As we have already mentioned, this wavelength cannot penetrate further than the very outer surface of the skin and eyes, with extensive testing proving it safe for regular use in sanitising a wide variety of traffic-heavy locations. Is it expensive to run? Not at all! Generating filtered far-UVC light is essen- tially very similar to how any other fluorescent bulbs work and is equally economical. Fluorescent bulbs produce less heat than incandescent bulbs and are therefore much more energy efficient – up to six times more efficient, in fact. The bottom line No matter how carefully we may sanitise our hands or clean our surfaces, the new normal we all face as a civilisation is going to require some serious innova- tion to make many of our public spaces safe again – not only from COVID-19, but from influenza, air- borne fungi, and other pathogens we encounter on a daily basis. In places where constant spraying are simply not possible, UVC sanitising light technology is showing promise as a highly effective alternative If it is so safe, how do we know it is still effective against COVID-19? Are other side-effects of being under UVC light for extended periods?

Enquiries: www.purpleuv.co.za/far-uvc

SPARKS ELECTRICAL NEWS

MARCH 2021