Lighting Automation Still Requires a Contactor
Peter Walsh, PE
Lighting automation has bells and whistles, but a lighting contactor is necessary to switch the actual lighting circuits. Properly selecting lighting contactors can save installation and maintenance costs. What are some of the important considerations in addition to the correct voltage and current?
The type of lighting load determines the contactor suitability. Some loads have ballasts, tungsten lamps, AC resistive, or general use characteristics. For instance, contact alloys suitable for long life switching of a ballast at 30 amps, could have a reduced load rating for tungsten lamps of only 20.
A proposed installation is typically changed several times from the original bid drawings to the final as-built drawings. Under pressure to complete a project, many end up with discarded lighting contactors that were not flexible enough for the project changes.
Upgrades and additions to lighting automation can create maintenance issues. If a versatile enough contactor is installed originally, the complications and labor are minimized.
An example of a versatile automation lighting contactor is the GE CR460 Series. These competitively priced units are modular and easily upgraded. The CR460 is rated up to 12 poles at 30 amps plus auxiliary contacts suitable for 12 to 600 volts. There are 74 different power pole circuit combinations with this same base unit.
The CR460 Series flexibility saves time. Coils can be changed from the front. The operation can be changed between electrically held to mechanically held. Contacts can be changed from normally open to normally closed for exit lighting. A versatile lighting contactor can save both with initial installation and later upgrades.
The type of lighting load determines the contactor suitability. Some loads have ballasts, tungsten lamps, AC resistive, or general use characteristics. For instance, contact alloys suitable for long life switching of a ballast at 30 amps, could have a reduced load rating for tungsten lamps of only 20.
A proposed installation is typically changed several times from the original bid drawings to the final as-built drawings. Under pressure to complete a project, many end up with discarded lighting contactors that were not flexible enough for the project changes.
Upgrades and additions to lighting automation can create maintenance issues. If a versatile enough contactor is installed originally, the complications and labor are minimized.
An example of a versatile automation lighting contactor is the GE CR460 Series. These competitively priced units are modular and easily upgraded. The CR460 is rated up to 12 poles at 30 amps plus auxiliary contacts suitable for 12 to 600 volts. There are 74 different power pole circuit combinations with this same base unit.
The CR460 Series flexibility saves time. Coils can be changed from the front. The operation can be changed between electrically held to mechanically held. Contacts can be changed from normally open to normally closed for exit lighting. A versatile lighting contactor can save both with initial installation and later upgrades.
Photo courtesy of GE Industrial
