Case Studies

ManualsBrandsFluke ManualsPower Supply43B

Application Note

Problem description

In most facilities, lighting is a

major element of operating

cost. Part of that cost is due

to energy, and part is due to

maintenance. The maintenance

costs can be significant. Light

fixtures require periodic mainte-

nance — for example, lamps

burn out, ballasts fail and

lenses need cleaning. The

amount of maintenance

required varies with the age

and design of the lighting

fixtures. The logistics of that

maintenance (e.g., needing a

personnel lift for high ceiling

areas) can magnify “typical”

cost estimates by an order of

magnitude. It is sometimes cost-

effective to replace an entire

system with a more efficient

one. In the case described here,

the owner decided to replace

the entire system.

While reducing the mainte-

nance costs was the driving

force in obtaining a replace-

ment system, reducing energy

costs was the driving force in

selecting a replacement system.

Determining the actual reduc-

tion in energy consumption

required significant research.

The research was difficult,

because there was no common

platform for comparing the

widely varying performance

claims from competing suppli-

ers. Sometimes, critical specs

were missing altogether.

Lighting ballast

evaluation

From the Fluke Digital Library @ www.fluke.com/library

The plant engineer decided

to compare various units side-

by-side, in the field. He began

by asking each supplier to

submit a sample for evaluation.

Next, he worked on determining

what to measure and how to

make the measurements. The

final measurement criteria

included measurements of

power consumption, power

factor, displacement power

factor and harmonic spectrum.

Power consumption and

displacement power factor

would translate directly to

operating cost. Harmonic distor-

tion was of interest, because

the plant engineer knew that

high levels of harmonic current

could cause problems for trans-

formers, circuit breakers and

other parts of the electrical

distribution system.

To make these measurements

easy, the plant engineer chose

the Fluke 43B. The electrical

team made measurements using

a setup similar to Fig. 1. This

is an experiment that you can

easily duplicate on your work-

bench.

10 Turn Coil

Fig. 1 Example test set up for compact fluorescent lamps

Operator: Plant engineer or plant

energy manager

Measuring tools: Fluke 43B Power

Quality Analyzer

Features used: Voltage, kW, PF,

DPF, THD

Power

Quality

Case

Study

Summary of content (2 pages)

PAGE 1
Lighting ballast evaluation Power Quality Case Study Measuring tools: Fluke 43B Power Quality Analyzer Operator: Plant engineer or plant energy manager Features used: Voltage, kW, PF, DPF, THD Application Note Problem description The plant engineer decided to compare various units sideIn most facilities, lighting is a by-side, in the field. He began major element of operating by asking each supplier to cost. Part of that cost is due submit a sample for evaluation.
PAGE 2
They recorded data in the matrix table shown here. From the table, you can see they were able to make comparisons of all the key electrical factors on a level playing field. This allowed them to select the most cost-effective approach. It’s worth noting that each manufacturer bases its performance claims on a specified set of operating conditions — these conditions may be ideal or they may be “typical.” But, the conditions vary between manufacturers and the conditions differ from actual applications.