Question on lighting MWBC calculation

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Smart $

Esteemed Member
Location
Ohio
So we can assume that his calculation is incorrect?
Perhaps... perhaps not. He does state the lamps are CFL's. The ballasts are integral with the lamp, right? ...thus lamp rating includes ballast. Yet we don't know if the fixture is rated for 57W per lamp or higher (assuming 57W is not higher than the fixture's individual lamp rating).
 

iwire

Moderator
Staff member
Location
Massachusetts
He does state the lamps are CFL's. The ballasts are integral with the lamp, right?


When I read 'high bay with 57 watt CFLs' this is what comes to my mind. The ballasts are NIC.

Philips-57w-PL-T-830-CFL-Lamp.jpg
 

winnie

Senior Member
Location
Springfield, MA, USA
Occupation
Electric motor research
I did e-mail the manufacturer to see what they had to say, but it looks like I will have to add in a 2-pole contactor for each phase to allow for the load.

Three additional possibilities:

1) You could have 6 (or more) switches, turning on alternating sets of lights for an even larger range of dimming. 1 Switch on means 2 lamps on every other fixture, then 2 lamps on every fixture...all lamps on. Is there a design requirement for 3 switches?

2) If you really want to stay with 3 switches, then you can use double pole switches rather than having a contactor. You would have 6 circuits switched with 3 switches, and at 277V you would need to be careful about which phases when to which switch (so that you didn't put 480V on a single switch)....You might even be able to use triple pole 'manual motor starters' as switches for this application, in which case you could switch different phases, and you could get more system efficiency by making sure that each lighting level was a balanced three phase load.

3) You could put OCPD downstream of your switches.

-Jon
 

electrics

Senior Member
There are two criterion to use lighting fixtures on a greater than 20: a) must be a non-residential installation, and b) fixtures must utilize heavy duty lampholders. [ref: 210.23]

If the cut sheet has no mention of heavy duty lampholders, they likely cannot be used on a greater than 20 amp circuit.

WHAT HAPPENS if we use lighting fixtures on the greater than 20 amps circuits? is it banned?isnt it better since it has a larger ampacity?
 

Smart $

Esteemed Member
Location
Ohio
WHAT HAPPENS if we use lighting fixtures on the greater than 20 amps circuits? is it banned?isnt it better since it has a larger ampacity?
Larger ampacity isn't necessarily better (hopefully I don't have to explain that statement :D )

Is it banned? In residential, yes. In non-residential, no... but fixtures must incorporate heavy-duty lampholders as stated.

Other than 480's comment on probably nothing happening, the requirement leads us to believe an electrical hazard is created (result indeterminant) and perhaps a "red tag" may ensue if caught during inspection or review.
 

GaTech04

Member
Hey guys - been gone for a bit (actually changed jobs) and just realized this topic was still going.

I'm still involved to a limited extent with my old job (and this project in particular) so I figured I would post a link to the fixtures to clear some things up: http://www.sportlite.com/UI/ProductDetails.aspx?pid=9

The model on site is the 6 lamp 57w CFL @ 277v.

I'd like to thank everyone for the help on the topic, we might actually just go with 6 switches (#1 of winnie's suggestion) for a wide range of dimming.
 
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