Lighting contactor terminology.

[iwire]

I did explain the difference, and they opted for the lesser expense.

Your the professional, not them.

I should add that this contactor controlled the parking-lot lighting, not interior lights.

Yeah .......... even more reason not to use an electrical held. Retail places flip out with dark parking lots, very high liability exposure.

If I seem anal about this it comes from 12 years of working large retail. We service the lot of a very large shopping center and you should see the lighting plan for the parking lot. As soon as you start looking at it you notice how expensive the lay out is with single circuits going all over the place and all supplied from four separate panels and contactors. If a circuit fails it is barely noticeable, if an entire panel fails no one area of the lot is in total darkness. It is very well laid out for safety even with some failures.

Its the same old story ..... once you get deeper into things you see the resons why the enegineers do what they do even when it adds costs to the equipment.

 

[bobsherwood]

We do have the Sq D solenoid operated breakers for our staduim lights. I didn't like the looks of them when they were installed but, they have not been a problem. Installers even velcroed a nut driver to the distribution panels at each location to remove the arm that operates the breaker... just in case!

 

[Speedskater]

There's no such thing as a truly uninterruptible power supply, either.

I knew some engineers that had worked for an Ohio UPS manufacturing company. In the 1970's they made a large low voltage DC UPS unit for a telephone company exchange building. The building was on fire, the UPS had no output disconnect or fuse. A fireman had to go into the burning building with an axe and cut the output wires.

 

[rrc14]

Thanks for all the responses!! The responses have definitely helped me understand lighting contactors better.

There is one item regarding the contactor coil voltage that I am unsure about. What dictates the coil voltage and does this voltage need to be supplied separately to the lighting contactor?

Thanks,

 

[bobsherwood]

Buy the contactor with the voltage you desire. You can use one of the lighting circuits for coil control BUT!, if that circuit faults, you have no control. It is best to use a separate circuit for the control voltage. I normally use 120V. If the lights are controlled by the Energy Management System then, usaually 24V.

 

[Microwatt]

Here's a photo of a 12 pole, mechanically held, lighting contactor from ASCO.

How much current is each pole rated for?