central inverter feeding remote heads or individual Em. lighting units?

[Designer69]

I've seen some designs where a central mini inverter feeding remote lighting heads is provided and other designs where individual battery units are provided.


Does this just come down to cost or any other reasons to go one way or another?

E.g., a central mini inverter costs around $600 and double remote heads are around $20, so if you need 15 heads, the whole thing is $900.

Individual emerg. battery units are around $150 so 10 of them would cost $1,500.



thanks

 

[charlie b]

The client I serve more frequently than any other (a nearby military base) does not want individual battery-operated egress lights. They want central inverters. I believe their reasoning is that the cost of maintenance outweighs the initial cost of the inverter system.

 

[Designer69]

thanks for the help.

on a related note, this is for a warehouse (transportation/shipping/storage use) I'm working on, would you put in steel housing industrial type or the architectural style, impact resistant type.... if decided to go with the individual unit equipment?


This is a small space and not as big as a military base, only a total of 14 are needed

 

[steve66]

Industrial units can usually put out much more light. You can use fewer, and they are better suited for higher mounting heights. They are usually also more expensive.

Environment is also a consideration - is the building heated? Air conditioned? Make sure you use something suitable for the temp. ranges you will have.

If I can get by without too many architectural units, that would probably be my first choice. Another option is a few of the regular lights with battery backup. The problem with those is that people forget they have battery backup.

If you use a central inverter, you may have special requirements for the branch circuits since those need to be per article 700.

 

[InverterGuy]

I would go with the central inverter every time. I speak about this every day to engineers and customers. LED has made central inverters the way, and now you can get smaller and smaller inverters to even do 1 fixture applications!

 

[don_resqcapt19]

...If you use a central inverter, you may have special requirements for the branch circuits since those need to be per article 700.

Yes, if the heads are required egress lighting, the wiring between the inverter and the heads must be kept entirely independent from all other wiring. 700.10(B).

 

[Open Neutral]

When WTC was bombed in 1993, it took out the central power for the emergency lighting.

After that, Port Authority installed standalone lighting.