Lighting the way to new technologies

When working in industries such as chemical, oil, gas, power, fire rescue, or hazmat, among others, there is a potential danger of having flammable material present. When electric equipment is used there, the combination of flammable material with a potential spark can cause an explosion or, technically speaking, generate a hazardous location.

In the event that you are in charge of purchasing electrical equipment such as professional torches for those who work in hazardous locations, you have a big responsibility. While this may seem dramatic, the truth is that a torch could be a very harmful tool if it is not used correctly or used in the wrong place, depending on the amount of flammable material present.

‘Classic gases’ versus new technologies

Professional lighting manufacturers have been striving for years to develop the brightest possible torches. They have struggled to produce lamps that not only create impressive amounts of light but also last for a reasonable period of time. The classical Edison incandescent lamp utilises a metal filament (usually tungsten) through which current is drawn to heat up the metal and generate light. To prevent the filament from oxidising, it is suspended in an environment devoid of oxygen. Usually, this environment is achieved by surrounding the filament with a glass envelope and replacing the air inside with either a vacuum or an inert gas. In recent years it is these inert gases, such as Halogen, Krypton and Xenon that have allowed manufacturers to achieve greater amounts of light output and also allow the filament to burn at higher temperatures. By using these ‘classic’ gases, the results are superior to a simple vacuum lamp as they offer a white, collimated beam of light that provides a better tool for professionals such as plant maintenance, firefighters and law enforcement. Powerful light output also depends on many other components as well as the design of the torch.

Probably the most significant advancement in the field of lighting technology has been the LED invented by Nick Holonyak in 1962. This single invention has created a revolution throughout the lighting world. The basic advantages of the LED over Edison’s incandescent lamp are greater efficiency of light per watt, lower cost of lamp replacement, longer battery life, and greater impact resistance. Due to the relative infancy of the technology, however, LED light output is not yet as bright and intense as the current incandescent lamps on the market and so millions of euros are being poured into this area of research to resolve this shortcoming. LED torch manufacturers are currently being challenged to create innovative designs that maximise the output of LEDs, and this is resulting in torches that are not created equal.

The future: new LED technology

One disadvantage of the LED has been its poor ability to focus the light emitted from the chip. Until recently, the only way that torch manufacturers could create a product that generated a reasonable amount of light was to package many LEDs together into a cluster. This approach created a soft wide beam that was fine for close up work but was not focused enough to throw light over distance or penetrate smoke or fog. This situation changed in 2003 with the advent of a new technology referred to as Recoil LED Technology from Peli Products. For the first time, an LED could produce the brightness of a classic incandescent lamp but with the longer burn time and lower operating costs of an LED.

This new invention consisted of using one of a new generation of high-wattage ‘LumiLED’ LEDs from a company called Luxeon and direct its light back into a reflector, just like a lighthouse. This simple but innovative method captures nearly 100 percent of the light emitted by the LED, and then reflects it forward into a truly impressive beam of pure white light. Comparing this approach with a regular eight-LED torch, the resulting recoil beam is 33 times brighter. With the new generation of Recoil LED lights producing comparable light output to incandescent lamps, yet with significantly lower operating costs, perhaps the ‘torch’ is about to be passed from Edison to Holonyak…

Safety at work

Why are torches required to conform to safety standards? Though they seem to be small and innocuous, the lamp and the batteries inside can be a significant source of ignition when used in a hazardous and volatile environment. The lamp filament operates at a very high temperature and some gases will ignite if they come in contact with either the filament or even the glass envelope. The batteries themselves can be a source of ignition, especially if a short circuit occurs resulting in the generation of a spark.

In order to prevent accidents, lighting systems need to be approved to certain safety standards. There are many of them, including Underwriters Laboratory (UL), Factory Mutual (FM), Canadian Standards (CSA), Urban Search and Rescue (USAR), Mine Safety Health Administration (MSHA), and the Australian Board of Approvals (AUS). In Europe, torches for use in hazardous areas need to be certified to ATEX Safety Standards.

Notified bodies certify torches to ensure that they pose no threat of ignition when operating in hazardous locations. By using only approved laboratories, torches are tested to ensure that they will withstand rigorous impact and drop tests, severe environmental exposure, and meet a minimum of IP54 ingress protection.

Pay now or pay later

Professional, high-performance torches are significantly more expensive than regular incandescent ones. Purchasing agents and individual buyers may not see the rationale in purchasing such expensive lights but over a period of time, the high cost of a professional, ‘Safety approved torch’ will typically be less than a cheap one.

Failure of the lamps is typically the reason that most torches are discarded. High performance xenon-filled lamps must withstand significant internal pressure from the gas, which translates into longer lamp life. As mentioned earlier, the inherent long life of LEDs renders lamp replacement redundant and their low battery consumption rate adds to the savings.

Finally, the materials and design standards used to create torches that pass the various tests necessary for hazardous location approvals to ensure that the lights are built to withstand the rigors of industry. A buyer has the choice to pay now or pay later for another torch.