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The Blog
Don’t See the Configuration you need in our Catalog? It’s Likely Unlisted, but Available
Friday, June 11, 2010

Just last week we had a customer tell us, “Your HBH would have been the perfect fixture for my last installation, but it doesn’t come with an acrylic lens - so I had to pick something else.”

Truth is - even though our HBH cut-sheet doesn’t mention an acrylic lens - it’s absolutely an option. On our cut-sheets we mention the most commonly specified options available for that fixture - but not all the available options.

If we listed every single option for our fixtures, our cut-sheets would turn in to cut-books - and we’d have cut down an entire forest every time we printed our product catalogs.

So in the interest of cute little forest critters everywhere, we limit ourselves to listing just a few configurations for each fixture. If you happen to come across something you’d like, but don’t see listed - we can help.

If you’re the Do-It-Yourself type, you can take a look at our Table of Cut Sheet Acronyms, 8 pages of enthralling tables which contain every single configuration option listed in our catalog. Of course - even that table doesn’t list every option we offer, or tell you precisely what options are compatible with what fixtures.

To answer those questions, we have our Service Hub, a group of highly-trained very pleasant P-2 experts who are ready to help you find or create the perfect fixture for your application.

Once you do find that perfect fixture, you don’t have to worry that “custom” will mean a long wait. Our three P-2 factories are set up to manufacture and deliver entire orders in less time than it can take for some of our larger competitors to send back a quote.

So what are you waiting for?

Call Our Service Hub: (714) 386-5550
Or Send Us A Message

 
Ask An Engineer: Relighting a Plant Nursery & Concerns About Stiration
Wednesday, June 02, 2010

It's time for the next installment in our Best Of Ask An Engineer series, where we take some of our most insightful "Ask An Engineer" questions and post their answers where anyone can find them.


In this installment, we get information about unconditioned spaces, 25W lamps and striation.

"Relighting a Plant Nursery"

The Question

"I have a client who needs to relight an unconditioned plant nursery. The space is currently lit with 250W HID fixtures - and I was planning to specify HP 1.15 ballast factor ballasts along with 25W 4’ T8 lamps for the retrofit.

Would this solution work in this application?"


The Answer

25W lamps require minimum temps of 60°F at all times in order for their krypton gases to co-mingle with their other gaseous friends in the lamp. If the temperature falls below 60°F (as it likely will in an unconditioned space) the krypton acts like a wall flower at a middle-school dance. It refuses to co-mingle, and striations will occur.

To avoid striations (and the unpleasant visual effects they cause) - I would recommend (4) 32W 4’ T8 lamps at a minimum.

If you’re interested, the attached white paper from Philips ADVANCE provides more in-depth information about the causes of lamp striation that is applicable to lamps from any manufacturer.

Feel free to call or write if you have more questions on this or any other project.

Sincerely,
-------------------------------------------
Joe Martin
Vice President of Engineering
Precision-Paragon [P2]

pdficonDownload The PDF


 
The Best of "Ask An Engineer" Part 3
Thursday, March 11, 2010

It's time for the 3rd installment in our Best Of Ask An Engineer series, where we take some of our most insightful "Ask An Engineer" questions and post their answers where anyone can find them.

Customer names have been changed to protect the innocent.

"The Effectiveness Of Lowering Lights"

The Question

"I have 400 watt high bay light fixtures in my warehouse. I have a 40 ft high ceiling, with the fixtures mounted 5ft from the ceiling. My racking is at 24 ft.

How do I measure the effectiveness of moving the lights to a lower level. Is there a formula to calculate? What if I change to T8 fixtures? Would I need the same or fewer fixtures? Please advise"

The Answer

Thanks for the question and the opportunity to be of service.

Short answer is yes and yes. Yes, we can help with measuring the effectiveness of existing systems. Yes, changing to a fluorescent high bay fixture should be strongly considered.

A new fluorescent hi-bay layout tailored to your space would result in dramatically reduced energy use and dramatically improved lighting. As your question recognizes, there are many variables that produce a sound lighting application for high piled storage applications.

The circumstance you describe is common; fixtures are often mounted in a High-bay/Open-bay configuration in a building shell at the time of construction. Subsequently the building is occupied, internal structures put in place and high piled storage racks are installed. The original generic lighting layout remains in place, and because it is not designed for configured space, it is less than optimal.

Lowering the fixtures to approx 27-28’ elevation, centered on your 24’ high piled storage aisles, is a logical step. However, there are things that work for you and against you when you do this.

Lowering the fixtures has the positive effect of eliminating the light lost on top of the racks. A negative consequence can be that when lowered, the reduced mounting height may not allow sufficient lateral spread of the light down the length of the aisle, resulting in “pooling” and poor uniformity.

The best way to predict the effectiveness of a new configuration is through a photometric analysis, which we are happy to perform for both your baseline system, and for the iterations you would consider. This analysis will give you the data you need; horizontal and vertical foot-candles, uniformity ratios which are equally important to good lighting, and analysis of energy savings resultant from an upgrade to fluorescent Hi-bays.

That is a long answer to a short question but that is typical in energy efficient lighting. We’d be happy to support you with product information.

We’d also like to introduce you to one of our Valued Added Resellers: Energy Efficiency Specialists who can design and implement a turnkey solution for you, secure rebates, and deliver an outstanding result.

Attached please see a generic example of a professional approach to energy efficient relighting. Such an approach will help you realize the potential for significant energy savings and a dramatically improved illuminated environment.

Relighting your plant can produce an outstanding return on investment. I’ll call you to follow up or feel free to call me.

Sincerely,
-------------------------------------------
Joe Martin
Vice President of Engineering
Precision-Paragon [P2]



 
Energy Efficiency, Jobs Creation, Environmental Impacts — PEERS Topics in DC
Tuesday, February 09, 2010

NALMCO highlights PEERS initiative with Congressional leaders in Washington, DC

The Steering Committee for The Program for Energy Efficiency Through Responsible Stimulus (PEERS) met with members of Congress in Washington, DC, January 20 – 21, 2010. They experienced first hand the phrase, “It is the people’s seat” and how these words apply at a national level.

Congressman_David_Reichert_web

Randy Breske, Congressman David G. Reichert R – WA, Jim Frank and Ray Pustinger.

PEERS is a grassroots initiative that seeks matching government funds for existing state and utility energy efficiency rebates and to direct ARRA stimulus funds toward energy efficient lighting retrofit projects in a public/private sector partnership. The PEERS Committee is headed by the interNational Association of Lighting Management Companies® (NALMCO®).

“We are asking the government to direct $16 Billion of the ARRA stimulus act’s nearly $800 Billion to support energy efficiency retrofit programs. These additional rebates will help business owners retrofit their facilities with energy efficient equipment that will lower utility bills and reduce the cost of doing business. The PEERS initiative provides a proven conduit for stimulus dollars to enter the economy, produce measurable results, create jobs, reduce pollution and increase our nation’s energy independence,” NALMCO President Jim Frank, CLMC, of Facility Solutions Group based in Austin, TX, said.

The PEERS Alliance Steering Committee contacted sponsors who supported H.R. 4226 and S. 1637, proposed proactive energy/incentive legislation directed toward private residences. These contacts led to the January 2010 visit to Washington, D.C.

“PEERS is an opportunity for our industry to take a leadership role in the nation’s economic recovery. The PEERS initiative has the potential to generate thousands of new energy efficient projects across the country, each of which brings tangible benefits for business owners, the economy and the public. We were pleased with the response to our efforts to introduce PEERS, including multiple invitations to make personal visits and presentations,” said PEERS Steering Committee Chair Randy Breske, CLMC, of Stay-Lite Lighting, Inc. in Pewaukee, WI.

While in Washington, DC, the PEERS Committee met with members of Congress and shared the basic tenets of the PEERS concept:

  • Direct a portion of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act stimulus monies toward private sector ECM projects
  • Management and over site of these funds through existing state, municipal or utility incentive programs, thus dramatically reducing the dilution of funds through the creation of a management arm tasked with the delivery of the program/funds;
  • And, most importantly, the direct benefits of the concept, those being a vehicle designed to implement the “immediate and shovel ready” delivery of a program that will ensure:
    • Environmental impacts through massive reductions in energy consumption
    • Positive steps toward energy independence
    • Simulation of local and national economy
    • Creation and retention of jobs
    • Creation of a true public and private partnership

The PEERS message was well-received by members of Congress.

“While the PEERS concept is fueled by energy efficiency, it’s most compelling benefit today is immediate jobs creation. We found in our visits with congressional leaders that an opportunity exists to include a PEERS concept allocation as a part of the jobs legislation currently being worked on,” PEERS Committee Member Ray Pustinger, CLMC, CEM, CDSM, of Precision-Paragon [P2] in Yorba Linda, CA, stated.

The next step is to reach out to Senators and Representatives involved in drafting legislation focused on increasing employment.

Those visiting Washington, DC, were: Jim Frank, CLMC, NALMCO President; Randy Breske, CLMC, PEERS Steering Committee Chair; and Ray Pustinger, CLMC, CEM, CDSM, PEERS Steering Committee Member. During the visit, the Steering Committee met with 11 concerned Americans, Statesmen, and Patriots and delivered a unified message, “Our great country and its economy are facing some critical issues and challenges, the solution to which will come only through ideas and involvement from people like us. This is the people’s seat.”

 

Thank you to the following offices for their time during the two-day visit:
Congressman David G. Reichert R – WA
Congressman Christopher J. Lee R – NY
Congressman Ron Kind D – WI
Congressman Geoff Davis R – KY
Congressman Tom Perriello D – VA
Congressman F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr. R – WI
Senator Dianne Feinstein D – CA
Senator Russell D. Feingold D – WI
Senator Herb Kohl D – WI
Senator Pat Roberts R – KS
Senator Sam Brownback R – KS

 

 
The Best of Ask an Engineer - Part 2
Monday, December 07, 2009

It's time for the next installment in our Best Of Ask An Engineer series, where we take some of our most insightful "Ask An Engineer" questions and post their answers where anyone can find them.

Customer names have been changed to protect the innocent.

"LED Dock Lights @ ACME"

The Question

"In our pre-retrofit meeting yesterday, one question that was asked was about the 'housing' on these units. As you know, they are all yellow & fairly similar. My contact is pretty technical & understands that the housing is also a heat sink. He was curious if the housing/heat sink were all made by the same company and if the differences between the units were the LED & power supply?"

The Answer

Regarding the housing, your customer is correct that the housing is a heat sink, and that heat sinking is very important in regards to LED life. To answer the question, our die cast aluminum housing is unique, made from our own die cast tooling, and is not available from any other OEM.

There is a visually similar unit to ours on the market that goes out under several private label names. If you had them side by side on a table top, the differences would be crystal clear. Our die cast aluminum alloy housing is designed with more mass and more fin/surface area than the competing units, which is just one of the reasons why it runs substantially cooler junction temperatures and provides substantially longer life and lumen maintenance.

The prominent competing unit also has some plastic parts in the housing that reduce durability relative to ours.

Your customer is also correct that the combination of LED and driver further define performance. Drivers, chips and circuit boards will produce different performance depending on how they are used and integrated into the fixture. E.g., all drivers of the same brand and all chips of the same brand will have different performance depending on how they are populated onto the boards, how the board circuits are designed, and how they are mechanically mated to the heat sink.

Hope this helps and if we can be of further assistance, please let me know. Since your customer is fairly technical, he might appreciate the attached PDF document which addresses the issues above.

Thanks,
-------------------------------------------
Ray Pustinger
Vice President / General Manager
Precision-Paragon [P2]

pdficonDownload The PDF

"LED-Powered Fluorescent Tube Replacements"

The Question

"I've seen several other lighting manufacturers marketing LED-tube lamps designed as a direct drop-in replacement for fluorescent lamps. Why has [P2] opted to not offer these products?"


The Answer

At Precision-Paragon [P2] we are certainly keeping a close eye on LED tube lamps as we expect they may show some promise in the next 5 years. At this time however, LED tube lamps designed to replace fluorescent fixtures do not yet hit the mark.

The Department of Energy has been evaluating these products on an on-going basis and have just released the results from Round 9 testing. Please find attached the latest Caliper summary report. Pages 11-18 outline the latest on linear replacement products with key conclusions at the end of the report.

Here are some of the key takeaways that end users should consider:
  • Buyers should be wary that rewiring a troffer to bypass the ballast may jeopardize the UL certification (or other testing certification) of the troffer, requiring recertification which may be difficult to obtain.
  • 4’ linear replacement lamps that have been tested do not meet the light output and efficacies seen in 4’ T8 fluorescent lamps, even when those products are tested in troffers to obtain overall luminaire performance.
  • For office areas, they generally are too directed, delivering a limited 120° distribution range compared to fluorescent troffers that have a distribution range of around 150°.

There are also concerns regarding the sockets that LED tube lamps are used with and how/if they are appropriate for line voltage as opposed to the secondary voltages of ballasts. This is an industry concern as UL has not given approval or direction on this matter. For that matter, these products are not UL listed to my knowledge.

Voltage - Many of these replacement products are being designed for 120-240V. Unfortunately, this will not work with 277V applications which many end users have.

Life - Fluorescent products are continually being rated for longer and longer lifespans. Some lamp manufacturers are now rating T8 lamps at 36,000 hours, making it difficult to justify the incremental cost difference of a 50,000 hour product.

ANSI Standards
- We have also seen that many of the lamp providers are not making product which meets the ANSI standards for T8 lamp lengths. Some are coming in too short and creating arcing, effectively damaging the onboard circuit board.

Cost - In addition to the freight costs, these products are typically FOB China and as such will be subject to importation duties which, for lighting products, runs about 9%. This would push the paybacks well beyond 7 years.

Risk - Even proven technologies can get a bad manufacturing batch and have some risk of failure during implementation. If an end user were to incur a mass failure with LED tube lamps, the availability of replacement units could impact their operations until replacements arrive from China. Additionally, the warranties offered on these types of products are generally of no value as they are not supported by manufacturers with strong balance sheets and the ability to immediately respond.

I think it is a great concept and may someday be ready technically. We are certainly keeping our eyes on them. However, I think they are far too risky at this point. Given the paybacks that many desire (2-3 years), the energy projects will have paid for themselves before these technologies are solid investments, both financially and technically.

I would be glad to address any additional concerns that might arise. Please let me know how we can help.

Thank you in advance.

Sincerely,
-------------------------------------------
Joe Martin
Vice President of Engineering
Precision-Lighting

pdficonDownload The PDF

 

 
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