Lighting contactors

[Richard3009]

When installing loads of lights in a warehouse, is it common practice to use lighting contactors driven from a standard light switch, what would a typical installation on a large scale consist of.

 

[trev]

How long is a piece of string?
Without further details on exactly what is going in how can we possibly give you any meaningful advice?
Yes to the contactor though.

 

[Plonker 3]

Lots of variations possible,shop generally use contractors operated via one switch, in a warehouse if areas are unused for long periods of times maybe PIRs in them areas so only on when occupied. But individual switching is also possible if thats what the customer wants.

 

[davesparks]

It is common practice to discuss with the client and/or people who will be using the installation as to what they need and how they need it to work. And then you design a system which fulfils the requirements.

 

[Richard3009]

ok lets say we had a warehouse with three rows of 10 high bay lights 400w per fitting, across three phases one phase for each row, how would you design this.

 

[Plonker 3]

Depends on customer requirements, if you are struggling with home work at least attempt to answer question before we can help.

 

[Richard3009]

Ok heres my stab, three contactors in a panel capable of 20A switching capacity, phase and neutral through each one to lighting banks, 3 gang switch 240v control circuit one switch for each coil.

 

[Darkwood]

ok lets say we had a warehouse with three rows of 10 high bay lights 400w per fitting, across three phases one phase for each row, how would you design this.

You figure out your mcb rating and no' required to be used to cover the 30 fittings then when you have these figures you know how many contactors you require and then decide the switching arrangements.

Ill not help you any further until you express your working out for all we know you may be doing homework or taken a job out off your depth and expect us to give you the answers...

Their is a lot to trip up on here from simple things like spacing of contactors to inrush issues that all have to be addressed in design, messing it up can be very costly to rectify.

 

[Darkwood]

Ok heres my stab, three contactors in a panel capable of 20A switching capacity, phase and neutral through each one to lighting banks, 3 gang switch 240v control circuit one switch for each coil.

No none of your mcb's would hold when you switched on ... why are you asking the question is it a job or homework?

If its a job its really one where you need to go and take the advanced design courses for Electrical installations you can't just walk into this stuff and start installing it without experience of it.

 

[GMES]

Lots of variations possible,shop generally use contractors operated via one switch, in a warehouse if areas are unused for long periods of times maybe PIRs in them areas so only on when occupied. But individual switching is also possible if thats what the customer wants.

How much are they on an hour though,could get costly

 

[Diddy]

No none of your mcb's would hold when you switched on ... why are you asking the question is it a job or homework?

If its a job its really one where you need to go and take the advanced design courses for Electrical installations you can't just walk into this stuff and start installing it without experience of it.

I wouldn't say that mate any industrial spark could answer these questions without having to take the course you have suggested....Such as myself lol.

 

[Darkwood]

I wouldn't say that mate any industrial spark could answer these questions without having to take the course you have suggested....Such as myself lol.

I assumed in asking the question he hasn't experience in the design concept so if its an area he's interested in he would need to work along side someone who has experience or look into taking a course .... wasn't saying the course is the only route their are other ways hmmmm yes my post did read that way though ooophs!..

TBH Ive seen lighting circuits designed wrong so many time by even experienced industrial sparks it beggars belief, telling a older spark who has pride in his work that he's designed the lighting wrong is not an easy thing to do .... denial and the more experience than me attitude is a hard wall to get around.... well until I prove things...TBH an advanced course wouldn't go a miss for a lot of them.

You seem confident Diddy and mostly likely its a breeze for you but surely you must have seen a lot of bad designs over the yrs not to mention sparks working in fields out of their depths... I know I have, I usually am the one that gets called out to finally resolve problems after in-house sparks etc fail to do so and I always end up ruffling a few feathers in resolving the problem.

 

[Richard3009]

You can get the inrush current ratings for contactors, and phone the mcb manufacturer for lamps per mcb design from the weakest point, lamps per protective device for inrush, and contactors to suit, and avoid 415v at switching point, vwallaaaa

 

[Darkwood]

You can get the inrush current ratings for contactors, and phone the mcb manufacturer for lamps per mcb design from the weakest point, lamps per protective device for inrush, and contactors to suit, and avoid 415v at switching point, vwallaaaa

Your halfway their then, just remember to design for easy testing and maintenance too and nothing wrong with having 400v in a switching banks its common practice when you switch loads direct, although your switching if using banks will only have one control line common to all switches so usually 230v max.

 

[Knobhead]

I assumed in asking the question he hasn't experience in the design concept so if its an area he's interested in he would need to work along side someone who has experience or look into taking a course .... wasn't saying the course is the only route their are other ways hmmmm yes my post did read that way though ooophs!..

TBH Ive seen lighting circuits designed wrong so many time by even experienced industrial sparks it beggars belief, telling a older spark who has pride in his work that he's designed the lighting wrong is not an easy thing to do .... denial and the more experience than me attitude is a hard wall to get around.... well until I prove things...TBH an advanced course wouldn't go a miss for a lot of them.

You seem confident Diddy and mostly likely its a breeze for you but surely you must have seen a lot of bad designs over the yrs not to mention sparks working in fields out of their depths... I know I have, I usually am the one that gets called out to finally resolve problems after in-house sparks etc fail to do so and I always end up ruffling a few feathers in resolving the problem.

What’s wrong with one light switch for 120KW of lighting?