Electrical Troubleshooting Quiz — Jan. 21, 2020
Four months ago, your facility underwent a major lighting upgrade that replaced various lamp technologies with LED.
Due to the anticipated superior optics, the new design uses fewer luminaires. The new arrangement required removing the old branch circuit wiring and running new circuits inside new raceway. To keep the costs down, the project was put out for bid and a low bidder was chosen.
But the lighting is not at the quality expected. Also, several of the luminaires have already failed. In a few cases, the lamps failed. In most cases, the LED drivers failed. Replacement seemed to solve the problem in each case, but it's starting to become a game of whack a mole.
What should you do?
Saving money at great cost is a recurring problem in facilities. The upgrade should never have been put out for a price bid. Instead, the exact brand and part numbers of components should have been specified with only the installation work put out for bid.
The lighting quality problems are probably due to purchasing cheap, rather than premium, luminaires. If so, it may be possible to send the cheap ones back for a refund. That avenue should be pursued if funds will be allocated for premium luminaires.
Power quality problems within the plant distribution system are probably causing the failures. That's expensive to fix, but two likely key contributors are mixed loads and bonding deficiencies. So as a start, ensure the luminaires are on their own transformer with no other loads and ensure there are no breaks in the equipment grounding conductor for the lighting branch circuits.
About the Author
Mark LamendolaMark Lamendola
Mark is an expert in maintenance management, having racked up an impressive track record during his time working in the field. He also has extensive knowledge of, and practical expertise with, the National Electrical Code (NEC). Through his consulting business, he provides articles and training materials on electrical topics, specializing in making difficult subjects easy to understand and focusing on the practical aspects of electrical work.
Prior to starting his own business, Mark served as the Technical Editor on EC&M for six years, worked three years in nuclear maintenance, six years as a contract project engineer/project manager, three years as a systems engineer, and three years in plant maintenance management.
Mark earned an AAS degree from Rock Valley College, a BSEET from Columbia Pacific University, and an MBA from Lake Erie College. He’s also completed several related certifications over the years and even was formerly licensed as a Master Electrician. He is a Senior Member of the IEEE and past Chairman of the Kansas City Chapters of both the IEEE and the IEEE Computer Society. Mark also served as the program director for, a board member of, and webmaster of, the Midwest Chapter of the 7x24 Exchange. He has also held memberships with the following organizations: NETA, NFPA, International Association of Webmasters, and Institute of Certified Professional Managers.