IOTA Awarded Patent for ILB-CP Emergency LED Drivers

On July 21st, IOTA announced that their ILB-CP Constant Power Emergency LED Driver Series had been awarded a patent from the United States Patent and Trademark office. Featuring constant power performance and a slim profile design, the ILB-CP Series provides reliable emergency lighting solutions for LED fixtures.

IOTA's ILB-CP LED Driver Series provides constant wattage delivery to the LED array for the full 90 minutes. Unlike traditional foot candles, there is no concern that the illumination will degrade at the end of the required runtime. Working at the system's voltage also enables the constant power drivers to avoid the varying output constant current emergency drivers provide. Within the ILB-CP Series, IOTA has released 120 minute emergency runtime drivers and created a slim profile subseries. The ILB-SL-CP subseries feature drivers with a narrower design allowing for easy installation within LED strip fixtures that may have limited compartment space.

Since hitting the market in late 2013, IOTA's ILB-CP Series remains the only emergency Class 2 LED driver that is UL classified for both factory and field installation. For more details or to purchase IOTA ILB-CP Constant Power Emergency LED Drivers, visit BallastShop online or call our customer service at 1-855-484-1145.

Why You Should Convert Your Home to LED Lighting

LEDs have the power to potentially change the future of the lighting industry. LEDs in homes use at least 75% less energy and last 25 times longer than incandescent lights, decreasing not only the cost of electricity bills, but also the costs of replacement lights. “By 2027, widespread use of LEDs could save about 348 TWh [1 TWh = 1 billion kWh] (compared to no LED use) of electricity: This is the equivalent annual electrical output of 44 large electric power plants (1000 megawatts each), and a total savings of more than $30 billion at today's electricity prices” (US Department of Energy 2016).

When LEDs were first introduced to the lighting market in the early 2000s, most consumers were turned off by their high cost. However, the prices of LEDs have experienced a game-changing drop in recent years. Consumers can now find affordable LED bulbs at their local home improvement store.

If you converted your house to only LED lighting, your electricity bills would be cheaper, you would avoid replacement costs for about ten years and you would reduce heat production. If you switched just one 60 watt incandescent bulb to an equivalent 10 watt LED, your change in wattage would bring about $153.30 in savings each year. (Calculations based on operation for 12 hours a day, 5 days a week, at $.14/kWh)

While energy savings may be the driving factor of switching to LED lighting, LEDs have other great features such as limited heat production and lower UV emissions. Traditional incandescents and fluorescent bulbs release 80-90% of their energy as heat, but LEDs are designed to have cool surface temperatures, creating a more child-friendly home and lowering air conditioning costs. In addition, the low UV radiation of LEDs prevents attracting insects and damaging artwork over time.

Within the past two years, the number of Americans who have purchased LEDs for their home has doubled. While the rate of LED interest is growing, ⅓ of homeowners in the United States have still not purchased LEDs for their home (Tweed 2015). When your current light bulbs go out, we hope you’ll consider how LEDs can influence your home!

A19 vs. A21 LED Light Bulbs

When you think of a light bulb, you probably have an incandescent A19 pictured in your head. Standard light bulbs are A19s–the "A" referrs to the shape of the bulb and the "19" refers to the 19/8" (2.375") diameter. With the growing LED industry, manufacturers have designed a bigger A21 bulb to help disperse heat in high wattage LEDs. An A21 bulb has a 21/8" (2.625") diameter and a slightly longer neck. A21s are usually 13+ watt LEDs, which are equivalent to 75+ watt incandescent light bulbs. Most fixtures can accommodate both A19s and A21s, but be sure to check before purchasing an A21!

Ballast Shop Case Study: LEDs for an Auto Repair Shop

Opportunity

At Finsanto, a family owned and operated auto repair shop, there is a focus on keeping their customers involved at every level of service. With high-quality parts and service, their fair pricing allows them to retain their customers year after year.

When Finsanto’s fluorescent lighting fixtures went out, the general manager faced a challenge of improving lighting for his work area and reducing operating and maintenance costs while maintaining aesthetics and safety. Their existing fluorescent lighting system consisted of 36 high bay fixtures (20 feet above the floor) each containing six 54W T5 High Output (F54T5HO) bulbs.  

Solution

The general manager’s original plan was to replace only the ballasts of the 12 bays. He contacted BallastShop to purchase the ballasts, but our customer service reviewed their case and recommended pursuing LED tubes instead of fluorescent tubes due to the unreliability of fluorescent lamps and ballasts.

The team at BallastShop compared different LEDs based on their quality of light and total life cycle costs, which include installation, maintenance and energy usage.  After looking at several new LED fixtures, we concluded an LED retrofit was the best option. LED retrofits allow new technology and features to be added to an existing system, so there would be minimal replacement work needed. Within the retrofits, we determined the best value was a Hyperikon 22W LED tube that did not require a driver or ballast.  Using the existing sockets and wiring to bypass the current ballast permitted for a quick one-man installation that took less than a day and a half.  Although the mechanics were skeptical that a 22W LED tube could provide sufficient lighting, the directional lighting of 2200 focused lumens and CRI (color rendering index) of 80+ produced better quality light for fine tasks.  Unlike fluorescent tubes, LED tubes feature directional lighting, which enables the light to be aimed where necessary. CRI is a number that represents how well colors can be distinguished under the light. Together, these qualities improved the overall light levels despite the decrease in total power consumption.

Benefits

Finsanto’s decision to install 216 Hyperikon 22W LED retrofit tubes http://www.ballastshop.com/hyperikon-22w-f54t5ho-led-retrofit-tube.html in their 36 fixtures resulted in a reduction of 6,912 watts for its lighting system. Assuming 3,744 running hours per year, this translates into a total reduction 25,000 kWh of energy each year!

This energy usage reduction amounts to energy savings of over $3,100 per year on energy alone. Additional savings come from Hyperikon’s standard 5 year warranty and the longer lifespan of LED tubes, which prevents extra replacement costs for fluorescent lamps and ballasts. This leads to a payback period of approximately just 12 months!