Warranties vs consumables in Emergency lighting.
A growing disposable industry with a toxic outcome.
When buying a printer, it is commonly understood that the printer warranty will not include the ‘consumables’ being ink cartridges and drum. These items are available for purchase in after sales and often cost more than the purchase of the printer. The same is true for exit and emergency lighting market in Australia. Extensive, attractive warranties are offered, but buyer beware! The warranties do not extend to the Batteries and LED diodes, these products are offered as after sales for suppliers and are a lucrative market for manufacturers
ETAP Lighting exits and emergencies stand alone in Australia, offering warranties on LED diodes and batteries for 5 years as standard. ETAP supply quality products, with consumable commonly lasting well beyond 8 years. This is possible through ETAP’s comprehensive self-test system known as ‘EST+” (stand alone self-test) or ‘ESM’ (monitoring system) in which the system will test and report on wiring, battery and diode function as well as battery health tests every 3 months. The battery health test drains the luminaires battery to 90mins (supplied with 120+ min battery), the battery will be recharged to capacity. In ESM products the remaining battery life will be reported to the system, similarly with the LED Diode. If the battery falls to or below 90 mins, required under ASNZ2293, a fault indicator will be sent to alert the building maintenance team of the fault. EST+ battery life is contained within the product supporting the product to fulfill compliant Battery health tests under ASNZ2293.
So how long do batteries and LED diodes last?
Good product health on our Mobile phone or tablets requires the consumer to discharge the product and re-charge to prolong the life of the battery. It is vital for battery health that the batteries are discharged and re-charged regularly. Commonly in Australian exit and emergency products, battery health cycles are not offered. The responsibility is left to the building maintenance team to perform and commonly not completed. This test required the maintenance staff to manually run the emergency lighting. ASNZ2293 only allows the battery to be drained to 90 mins within a battery health test, without the remaining battery life reported by most brands, it is impossible to run a battery health cycle to standards, unless the products are ETAP products:)
K9 wall mounted Exit with European pictograms (ASNZ2293 compliant pictograms distributed in Australia) indicator light displaying perfect and compliant function.
The real cost of consumables.
Emergency and exit lighting products that have batteries remaining dormant will invariably lead to battery degradation and failure. This often happens well within the advertised warranty life, although the fine print within many warranties does not include batteries and LED Diodes. The cost of replacement falls on the end user and, or building manager. Unlike most products on the market, ETAP Lighting include batteries and LED diodes into their warranties. The materials we use within product and installations should be considered in design. Lithium-Ion degrades when stored in warm or hot locations such as ceiling cavities or windows. In extreme cases, Li-Ion can become unstable due to heat. It is not uncommon that buildings will begin to have failures within the first year of operation. ETAP Lighting’s installation in Hamilton law court NZ, has reported 100%+ battery health after seven and half years. Nunawading Community hub in Victoria has not had any battery failures after 4 years operating. The cost of consumables and maintenance labor becomes unnecessarily high.
The other concerning cost is the toxic waste produced from Li-Ion. Li-Ion is not able to be recycled, the batteries chemicals are toxic and must be carefully disposed of. These chemicals when disposed of, can become unstable leading to a chemical fires. Li-Ion is a growing concern for toxic waste in modern life.
ETAP Lighting use Nichel medal Hydride – NiMH in all their emergency and exit lighting products. NiMH batteries can be recycle up 95%, for this reason NiMH batteries are an environmental choice. NiMh are more stable in warmer environments, coupled with regular battery health tests, the need for battery replacement is limited.
Peace of mind through comprehensive testing.
ASNZ2293 requires Emergency lighting to meet many requirements throughout the life of the installation. This can be vouched for at the start of any project when the products are new, but as the products degrade, it is unclear whether the system is compliant and indeed Evacuation ready. Most systems offer a voltage test, which will only advise that the product is working. It does not advise the building manager if the product has met any of the requirements under ASNZ2293. Many installations will not meet the requirement needed to evacuate a populated building.
Better by design
ETAP Lighting’s Architectural K9 system are IF award winning products. From sleek exits that remain unobtrusive to special designed optics within the K9 emergencies to maximize visibility during evacuation. The K9 is manufactured from steel thus, it can be custom powder coated to match your next project installation. Standard finishes include Matt black, Matt white and grey. The K9 mini featured in the image above can be installed into ETAP and Bluelab Design lighting products. The K9 mini has accessories for plaster and T-bar ceilings, an L-bracket to mount between decorative timber ceilings.
The K1 is a universally mounted exit sign with a similar K1 range of emergencies manufactured from poly-carbonate, offering the same superior technology as the K9 range but for a more budgeted, project pricing.
ETAP’s K2 IP65, IK10 is the most attractive weatherproof exit in Australia hands down!
K9 and K1 Escape Route lens (elongated distribution) C0:C90 = D800:A25
K9 and K1 Anti-panic lens (square distribution) C0:C90 = A630:A630
K9 Mini Escape Route Lens C0:C90 = D800:A16
K9 Mini Anti-panic lens C0:C90 = B320:B320
ETAP emergency and exit fun facts:
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ETAP Lightings ESM system CAN monitor any other emergency and exit lighting product via a Dali gateway.
- ETAP Lighting use 20% less power than other branded exit and emergencies.
- ETAP K1 and K9 have high ceiling rating optics.
- ETAP lighting exits and emergencies are tested and compliant to ASNZ2293
- An ASNZ2293 filter is offered on ETAP’s website to filter compliant products for our market.
- ETAP offer a safe 12V central battery system.
- ETAP products do not require any manual testing intervention.
- ESM is a secure cloud based system.
Nunawading community hub designed by FJMT Architects and WSP. K9 mini with ‘L’ shaped bracket mounted between decorative timber slat ceiling.
Contact us for greener lighting solutions for your next project.