Safety First in LED Lighting Retrofit Kits

Yorba Linda, Calif. (PRWEB) August 18, 2014

As fluorescent to LED conversion kits from several manufacturers hit the market, energy-efficient lighting manufacturer Precision-Paragon [P2] released a statement today reiterating its commitment to the importance of safe, standards-compliant lighting retrofit kits.

[P2] is the manufacturer of the TKD LED Troffer Conversion Kit, which retrofits fluorescent prismatic and parabolic troffers to low wattage, high lumen LED lighting. The TKD meets a wide range of safety and energy standards. For example, the kit is designed to UL1598, 1598C and 8750 standards and is listed on the DesignLights Consortium (DLC) list. All testing on the TKD was performed to LM79, LM80 and TM21 IESNA standards.

However, the manufacturer cautions that not every retrofit kit on the market adheres to these same standards, and even some that do might cut corners in other ways.

One of our employees was watching an instructional video put out by a competing manufacturer, explained Joe Martin, [P2] vice president and general manager. Our employee noticed that the video encouraged the violation of a nationally recognized standard in the installation of the retrofit kit.

The video in question demonstrated the installation of an LED retrofit kit in a manner, which bypassed the original fluorescent ballast, but left the disconnected ballast in place within the upgraded fixture. This demonstrates a disregard for both environmental regulations and safety standards. As explained on this page from the EPA, older fluorescent ballasts may contain polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). These ballasts can rupture, causing a health hazard. Even intact, non-leaking ballasts can release PCB into the air. Additionally, any PCB-containing ballasts are now far past their normal life expectancy, which would increase their risk of smoking, or even starting fires.

Even with newer, safer fluorescent ballasts, its a good idea to remove the ballast as part of the upgrade. Once the ballast is bypassed and no longer in use, its electronic waste and should be properly disposed of. This also affects the UL certification of the retrofitted fixture. Replacing electrical components in a fixture requires a new UL sticker certifying the replacement electronics. Leaving an old ballast in the fixture after the retrofit means that there are electronic components in the fixture that are no longer UL certified.

I dont know what the motivation was to release an instructional video that demonstrated this disregard for standard safety practices. Maybe it was a simple oversight, maybe it was a desire to make the installation procedure look quicker than it actually is, said Martin. What I do know is that as manufacturers, its our responsibility to lead the industry in encouraging proper safety practices when using our products.

[P2] has released a video of the TKDs rapid five-minute installation procedure, which includes the proper removal of the fluorescent ballast. The video is available at http://youtu.be/_zO6ebytP-k.

The TKD LED Troffer Conversion Kit is available to order in a variety of configurations to convert fluorescent troffer lighting to energy-efficient LED lighting. Interested lighting professionals and business owners can learn more by downloading the TKD specification sheet.

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Safety First in LED Lighting Retrofit Kits