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Is there any regulation when it comes to replacing old fluros with LED battens in garage common areas. We have been told by an electrician we ‘must use 2 tube 18W’ battens. They are on 24/365 and the current older type only have 1 tube x 36W. I know it’s the same wattage but he insists on 2 tube. He says with a strata rule created we can remove 1 tube to 1/2 the cost of running them. Any thoughts?
Thanks.
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Firstly, get your lighting put on a movement detector. You’ll be surprised how much money you will save.
Secondly, there is no regulation in the electrical standards specifying the size of lighting in ANY situation. However, the BCA has general guidance on levels of lighting for task lighting. I think the electrician is using a basic rule of thumb to ensure the light levels are adequate for a task.
Ask your electrician to work with his electrical wholesaler. They can calculate the lighting required for your space. It’s a free service the wholesalers do to sell lighting.
Where I live, we have a large property. The EC has simply got on with upgrading lighting in a piecemeal fashion over years, for both lighting quality and better electrical efficiency. We added a few lights in dark spots along paths and replaced existing fluoro tubes with LED DIY retrofit kits when they needed replacing. Where a fitting needed repair, we got an electrician to fit an LED fitting. We mentioned the improvements at various AGMs but it was never the subject of a new by-law or meeting resolution. The EC simply regarded it as part of its duty to repair and maintain and ensure safety.
One of the more arcane discussions I have witnessed over strata lighting was whether or not to install motion detectors or low-emission lighting in common areas.
The LED lights alone we were told would pay for themselves in so many years and the motion sensors alone would pay for themselves over a slightly longer period.
We were advised by a previous building manager not to have both because the savings we made using LED lights meant it would take longer for the savings on motion sensors to make financial sense.
Thankfully someone lumped the two cost/savings analyses together and worked out the overall savings of doing both made it worth it in the slightly longer long run. We now have both motion sensors and LED lighting in our garages, bin room and bike room, saving the strata money and doing our bit for the planet.
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Is there any regulation when it comes to replacing old fluros with LED battens in garage common areas.
The regulations seem to specifiy the maximum amount of power to be consumed for lighting rather than the equipment that provides it.
This document (Australian Building Codes Board) specifies 6 Watts per sqm inside a garage and 25 W/sqm in the entranceway (first 20 metres).
This one based on Building Codes Australia, limits garage lighting to 3 W/sqm.
I’d just go with what your electrician says.
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