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EMerge to Showcase NEC-Compliant LVDC Lighting System at LIGHTFAIR

May 27, 2014 by Jeff Shepard

The EMerge Alliance today announced it will be showcasing a range of new member products in a low-voltage dc (LVDC) lighting demonstration and workshop at LIGHTFAIR International June 1-5, 2014. The latest demonstration of the EMerge Alliance Occupied Space Standard, which facilitates LVDC lighting, will be on display at booth #5549 during the expo. It represents the industry's only modular, plug-and-play lighting system that enables renewable energy and distributed generation to create an energy network designed to help achieve zero net energy use in buildings and campuses. LIGHTFAIR attendees can learn more about the technical, code and assembly requirements of designing and installing LVDC commercial lighting and power distribution systems according to the EMerge Alliance Occupied Space Standard, which is now incorporated into Article 393 of the National Fire Protection Association's National Electric Code (NEC), in a hands-on workshop on June 1.

The workshop will be three-hour educational session covering the selection and use of EMerge Alliance Registered products and NEC compliant power sources, wiring and interconnect infrastructure, fixtures and sensors, and system controls. The session will include a review of specific NEC requirements associated with LVDC systems, as well as a live, hands-on demonstration of a representative design and installation of a system. According to EMerge Alliance Chairman Brian Patterson, decreased energy consumption is only one of the important benefits of standardized dc power distribution systems.

“The lighting industry continues to invent new energy-efficient solutions that offer significant cost savings to users, but traditional power infrastructure limits those savings,” Patterson said. “By pairing new lighting technology directly with on-site renewables, dc microgrids not only unlock those additional savings, but also provide buildings with more reliable, resilient and sustainable lighting systems.”

The Alliance’s LVDC lighting demonstration will illustrate this concept utilizing the following member products: Acuity Brands – Lithonia Lighting VT Series LED/2VTL and Lithonia Lighting RT Series LED/2RTL; Armstrong – DC FlexZone Suprafine Grid; JLC-Tech – T-BAR LED Smartlight™; OSRAM SYLVANIA – OSRAM RLS22 LED 2x2 Luminaire and ENCELIUM® Energy Control Unit; ROAL Electronics USA – Safe Energy Server (SES400); and STEP Warmfloor – STEP Warmfloor EP-XX-XX-24V.