LIGHTING
L-R: Account Manager, Chris Orr and NI Sales Manager, Michael Martin.
MICHAEL MARTIN, WHITECROFT LIGHTING’S NORTHERN IRELAND SALES MANAGER, BREAKS DOWN THE NEW FLUORESCENT LIGHTS REGULATIONS – AND WHY THEY PRESENT AN OPPORTUNITY TO SWITCH TO QUALITY LED LIGHTING… New regulation: putting fluorescent lamps in the shade
T he familiar sight and sound of traditional fluorescent lighting have been with us for as long as we can remember, particularly the old-fashioned tubes found in commercial buildings such as offices, schools, hospitals, and universities. It is common industry knowledge that LED lighting has offered a credible improvement to fluorescent lamps for some time, yet many facilities and business managers have been reluctant to make the switch. As a result, there are still millions of energy-inefficient fluorescent lamps in use across Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, with the average- sized primary school alone containing around 1,000 individual tubes. But new EU and UK rules affecting certain types
of fluorescent lighting are on the way, and these will undoubtedly accelerate the pace of change. The EU has been leading the phasing out of fluorescent lighting in recent years, which saw the removal of highly energy-inefficient T12 lamps from the market in 2021. The next step will see the EU and UK restrict materials containing hazardous substances such as mercury, and phase out many lamps still in use, including the T5 and T8 linear types of fluorescent lamps, and the ever-popular compact fluorescent lamps. However, post-Brexit, the timetables for implementation are subtly different for the EU and the UK. 2023 will see the remaining fluorescent lamps added to the list of banned items. These will no longer be allowed to be placed on the UK market
from 1st August 2023 – six months later than in the Republic of Ireland and the rest of the EU. As a result, we will start to see the availability of existing stock diminishing. The production of associated lighting inverters and control gear has already been phased out, so, if the lighting control hardware fails, the connected fluorescent lamps would no longer be viable. The challenges with compromise We are already seeing some businesses and facilities managers trying to go halfway and keep the fluorescent lamp fittings but replace the tube with an LED equivalent. Although this may appear like a commonsense and cost-effective compromise, it is important to remind
“Just switching LED tubes may require the luminaire wiring to be adapted and tested to ensure that it still meets safety requirements.”
38 | IRELAND’S ELECTRICAL MAGAZINE
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