The countdown is on: From 1st September 2023, no fluorescent lamps of the common T8 type of construction are allowed to be put on the market. This marks a turning point for industry – and users of hazardous systems will have to deal with the consequences.

Static grounding systems from Newson Gale meet the Standard

The benefits of modern LED technology are especially important in those places where luminaires are in continuous operation and where maintenance and repair require a lot of expenditure. Especially for clean rooms, lighting solutions that are highly efficient and that feature a long service life are required. Furthermore, LED luminaires used in these environments must be designed so that they are explosion-protected and comply with strict hygiene regulations.

In many industrial sectors, powdered and dust-like products are processed or formed during the production process. Regardless of the classification as useful dust or waste dust, the vast majority of all dust substances can result in a fire hazard and, under certain circumstances, even an explosion hazard. Most dusts that are found in industry are combustible – even just a small layer of dust in an enclosed room is enough to trigger an explosion after being stirred up and ignited. Many people affected by this risk are not aware of the hazards of a potential dust explosion, which is a good reason to get to grips with this topic in more detail.

Enabling compact designs, remarkable energy efficiency and a long service life, LED luminaires are also very robust. Based on this combination of features, they are almost universally suitable for use in industrial environments around the world. However, extreme temperature conditions require special design considerations, lest excessive heat or very cold sub-zero environments have a severely negative impact on the lifespan of LEDs. Rico Schulz, Product Manager Lighting Technology at explosion protection expert R. STAHL, discusses the issue of temperature resistance.

Top 5 questions on LED technology, ANSWERED !

The protective measures that make up primary and secondary explosion protection are not always sufficient. As a result, tertiary explosion protection focuses on reducing the effects of an explosion. Designing containers and equipment in accordance with the maximum expected explosion pressure enables you to control the effects of an explosion. Additionally, the explosion must be prevented from spreading to other parts of the system through the use of explosion decoupling.

To determine the most effective form of protection against corrosion, Emerson turned to a nationally recognized 3rd party testing laboratory to run a salt fog chamber test on their Appleton iron conduit bodies and two top competitors.

For many years, the focus has been on the high efficiacy of LEDs, which presented the primary reason for their application. In the meantime, optimization of this light source technology has moved forward. The focus in all application areas - including the industry - is more and more on exact colour rendering and on the development of the spectra that are required. Today, high-quality LEDs fulfil even the most sophisticated requirements. The essential criteria and the state of the art are presented in this article.

In the chemical and petrochemical industry, in crude oil and natural gas extraction, in mining, in the foodstuff industry, in machine engineering and plant engineering, and in many other branches of industry, combustible gases, vapours or mists can escape during manufacturing, processing, transport and storage – and other processes can generate combustible dusts. These substances can form an explosive atmosphere if they mix with oxygen in the air. If this atmosphere is ignited, this can cause explosions that can result in significant injury and/or material damage.

When planning and installing lighting systems for industrial plants, ever more emphasis is being placed on considering the ecological aspects. Sustainable, energy-efficient and environmentally friendly lighting solutions for indoors and outdoors are in more demand than ever before as we aim to conserve our natural resources. This includes measures to reduce light emissions and modifications to lighting technology to protect particularly sensitive ecosystems.