PRODUCT FOCUS – Ex Lighting: Modular vs Sealed for Life, Part 4

This is the final part of our four-part series in which we’ve explored ‘modular’ and ‘sealed for life’ LED Ex luminaires, and considered how the design and certification of these different manufacturing methods impact how easily maintenance can be carried out.

So far, we’ve covered:

• Part 1 – Modular vs. Sealed for Life – What’s the Difference?
• Part 2 – Modular vs. Sealed for Life – Downtime
• Part 3 – Modular vs. Sealed for Life – Environmental

In this final instalment we consider cost. Using the same offshore scenario, we look at how the long-term maintenance of a sealed for life fitting compares with a modular luminaire.

Application: Offshore, Oil Rig
A luminaire installed on the rig has failed and is no longer providing light output. The suspected cause is a failure of the luminaire’s PSU/driver.

Sealed for Life Luminaire
The nature of an offshore application makes it challenging and expensive to transport goods on and off the rig. The responsibility of returning the faulty unit to the manufacturer will almost always lie with the user, and even if the fault is found to be covered by the warranty, the customer may be expected to cover the cost of shipping the luminaire back to site.

As the entire luminaire is more likely to be replaced than repaired, if the cause of the PSU failure is found to be due to a user error (ie over-voltage), the customer may have to pay for a new unit – even though a single, relatively inexpensive, component has caused the failure.

Modular Luminaire
The ability to repair the luminaire on site removes costs of returning it to the manufacturer. In some cases, it may still be necessary to return the PSU to the manufacturer for inspection, but the cost of doing this will be significantly less than having to return the entire luminaire.

If the repair is not covered under warranty, the cost to fix it will be significantly cheaper than having to replace the entire luminaire (as would be required if the unit was factory sealed).

What does this tell us?
This four-part analysis illustrates how the lifetime cost of maintaining a modular luminaire will be significantly less than a sealed for life fitting.

To minimise downtime, reduce the environmental impact, and ultimately reduce costs, selecting a maintenance-friendly, modular luminaire should be considered for any hazardous area lighting installation.

Raytec pioneered maintenance-friendly Ex lighting with its SPARTAN range in 2014. Since then, each SPARTAN product has the same unique modular design, focus on making maintenance as quick and easy as possible.

Pacific Automation is the Australian distributor for Raytec’s Spartan and White-Light range of LED lighting products. Raytec’s Spartan Range of IECEx-certified fittings includes flood, bulkhead and strip lighting solutions.

For more information about Raytec products, email sales@pacificautomation.com.au. As with all Pacific Automation products, you’ll receive technical support and application advice.

This article has been adapted from Raytec’s blog, Maintaining Ex Lighting: Modular vs Sealed for Life – Part 4 and is part of its four-part blog series.