LED LAMPS

According to a variety of sources,  between 13% and 20% of world electricity consumption is lighting. Reducing this would go a long way toward handling energy crises, greenhouse gas effects and the global warming threat. Saving energy and resources is not just trendy, it is extremely important. And the future of lighting technologies belongs to LED lamps.
The key advantages of LED lamps:

1. In a standard incandescent lamp, 95–97% of the energy is emitted as heat into the environment. And only 3-5% is used for lighting itself; efficiency is minimal. In a LED lamp, it is is vice versa: efficiency is up to 95%.

2. The life expectancy of a standard lamp is about 1,000 hours. The life expectancy of LED lamps may reach 50,000 hours (some producers even claim 100,000 hours). In our apartments, where light is on in average for three hours a days, LED lamp life expectancy will be decades!

3. Light naturalness: the emission spectrum of LED lamps is closer to sun light, and at the same time, there is no infrared or ultraviolet radiation harmful to humans. LED lamps can also have a color temperature from “cold white” to “warm white”.

4. Safety of utilization. Rather common compact fluorescent lamps (often referred to as energy saving lamps) contain a microscopic amount of mercury (400-500 times less than in a regular thermometer). It is safe for a consumer – if you break a fluorescent lamp, it is enough to open the window for 5 min and to ventilate the room. But when we speak about the utilization of several tons of fluorescent lamps, the environmental component of the matter becomes important. LED lamps do not contain any mercury.

5. Vibration and shock resistance increase because there is no filament and glass bulb. The maximum consumption for LED lamps is 20 W.



Compare key lamp characteristics:

The cost of a LED lamp is higher than of its “relatives”. Prices of these lamps are from UAH 50 to UAH 250 and higher, depending on their technical characteristics. This is because an LED lamp is not a regular lamp, but rather an electronic device consisting of dozens of process elements. But when there is an issue of light quality, life expectancy of equipment and savings, LED lamps have no competitors. Over time, prices for these products will decrease.

According to data from the State Scientific and Technical Program on LED Lighting, if the Ukrainian economy fully transferred to LED lighting through 2020, enough electricity would be saved to close 11 heat power plant units, or 5 nuclear power plant units, and would reduce CO2 emissions into the atmosphere by 5.3 mln ton.

As electricity tariffs are growing, saving electricity and improving end-use efficiency become more and more important. LED lamps produce natural, safe, and ecological light with less electricity consumed, and, accordingly, less money spent from our wallets. And the lamps will serve us brightly and for a long time!

MOTION SENSORS

In view of the constant growth of electricity tariffs, each of us is looking for different ways to save electricity. One such way is to use simple devices – motion sensors. Most often, you can see them in those premises where people are present for short periods of time, for example, in hallways, staircases, etc.

How motion sensors operate

We know from school that any object with a surface temperature higher than absolute zero (-273 К) emits heat. 

The basic motion sensor mode of operation is an uninterrupted sensitivity to infrared radiation in the surveillance zone. Most importantly, a person must move so that difference between his/her body temperature and the environment temperature is at least five degrees Celsius.

Motion sensors can be used both indoors and outdoors in open territory. In residential premises, motion sensors are often used for automatic lighting control. It is convenient as there is no need to press a switch to turn light on.

There are more powerful motion sensors used for turning on spotlights. These sensors are optimized for 500 W capacity, and they can be installed outdoors.

Settings can be changed in every motion sensor, there usually are three sensors:

1. Time interval for turning off. This function is necessary to set time from the moment of last motion detection, it may vary from 5 sec to 10 min.
2. Illumination level. This function is necessary to control sensor operation in daytime and nighttime. The sensor determines illumination level itself, and is activated when level is lower than boundary level.
3. Sensitivity level. The higher is the sensor’s sensitivity, the better it reacts to motion.

How to select a motion sensor

First of all, you need to decide on the following:

- where the sensor will be used: if outdoors, will it be under an open hood or in closed premises. This determines the choice of mounting option and level of protection. There are moisture-proof and dust-proof motion sensors. They can be mounted on the wall brackets or be built-in;

- what is the electric equipment capacity. The motion sensors may have different wattage ratings: from 200 W and higher. For instance, a sensor might be used for one daylight lamp or for several more powerful devices. Depending on this, the type of installation and size of the motion sensor vary;

- what is the activation zone. It should be mention that heat radiation sensor only operates in the visible zone. For example, glass is an obstacle for heat radiation, therefore, the control zone decreases;

- what should be exact time of device turning-on and turning-off. This is necessary, for example, in a long hallway with several motion sensors, so that a person in the hall will reach the next device while the previous one is still on;

- device acceptance angle. Infrared motion sensors have an acceptance angle from 180° to 360°. Motion sensors with180° acceptance angle are mostly aimed for reacting to entrances and exits. They are mounted on the wall.

Advantages of motion sensors



Using light switches with motion sensors ensures the most energy savings in staircases and in building entrances. The motion sensors “see” a person who walks out of the elevator or apartment, and turns on the light just this area for the period of his/her presence in the landing. On the other floors, no light is turned on.

Using motion sensors to control the lighting processes on the floors can save up to 95% of electricity, and to reduce expenses for lighting of common areas by 15-20 times.

These devices can be purchased in electric appliance stores and over Internet. Lighting motion sensors cost between UAH 100 and 300.

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