Cost benefits of LED luminaires in Ex environments

摘要

New technologies are beingudestablished in the fi eld of lightingud- in particular, the use of LEDs isudbecoming much more common. It isudvery important to analyse and knowudthe possible failure modes of LEDudsources in order to design reliableudand safe lighting fi xtures. This isudparticularly true in relation to the use ofudLED lighting equipment in potentiallyudexplosive atmospheres that requireudquite complex safety systems to avoidudigniting dangerous gases, vapours anduddust. At present, ATEX Standards doudnot adequately cover LED luminaires,udwhether white or coloured. Therefore,udthese sources are often used asudtraditional light sources (incandescent,uddischarge, induction). The safety of suchudequipment is entrusted exclusively to theudmechanical strength of the casing andudnot the internal electrical equipment.