The overwhelming majority of construction and mining projects require some degree of temporary lighting. Traditional solutions have included bulb- and tube-based lamps such as metal halide fixtures, light bulb strings, and halide and halogen floor lamps.
While effective, these solutions have not been without drawbacks. Common to all of these traditional methods are the high amperage draw, allowing for very limited “daisy-chaining” and requiring multiple electrical circuits to light job sites of any significant size. This point has been exacerbated in construction or abatement/restoration environments and in remote locations (such as mining) that have a limited available power supply (generator). Additionally, most of these traditional methods provide just a single level of brightness, in a “one-size-fits-all” approach.
Other drawbacks that are particular to the metal halide fixtures include inconsistent lighting quality, difficulty in transporting, moving, and installing very heavy and cumbersome devices, and very substantial purchase expense.
Drawbacks of the traditional bulb-based light strings include poor light quality, extremely poor durability/reliability, regular breakage, and the need for a large supply of replacement bulbs. Though relatively cheap on an initial purchase basis, they have become a “throw away” item that needs constant replacement and thereby have a high life-cycle cost.
Similar to the light bulb strings, traditional floor lamps and tri-pod mounted lights rely on delicate, easily-broken bulbs that do not easily withstand the rigors of a construction site and transportation from site to site. Additionally, these halide lamps produce tremendous amounts of heat which negatively impact most work environments.
In direct response to the particular needs of the construction/restoration/abatement industry LED lighting manufacturers have developed very specific (non-bulb) LED-based lighting solutions for this market. These solutions also have significant application for mining. A variety of configurations, including LED strings, single- and connectable-temporary LED “high bay” lights, and LED floor stand lamps have been demanded and produced, and are made available in a wide-range of brightness levels. Focusing on providing high quality lighting that is extremely durable, energy-efficient, and enables job-site versatility, the industry is continually adapting to the needs of the marketplace with cost-efficient solutions.
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