By Gerard Bowtell-Harris, Technical Lighting Specialist, Raylinc Lighting
Outdoor fittings face the weather every day, and in coastal Queensland that means salt air. When a cheaper fitting replaces the specified one, the driver or the LEDs usually fail first. That often happens after the contractor’s defects period has ended, so the owner pays.
“In complete honesty, all fittings’ failing point typically is the driver,” says Gerard Bowtell-Harris.
Cheaper substitutes often carry a lower quality driver. Some have a decent driver but subpar LEDs, which wear faster and shift colour sooner. Others are residential or light commercial fittings standing in for a commercial specification. They aren’t built to run at constant output and heat, night after night.
Gerard is candid that no single part always goes first. It can be one of these, or several at once.
Timing decides who pays. A failure within 12 months falls inside the contractor’s defects period, so the contractor fixes it. After that, “he’s already long gone,” Gerard says, and the cost falls to the owner.
The environment is the critical factor. Much of Queensland’s development sits near the coast, and salt air travels.
“It’s not just limited to immediately by the beach,” Gerard says. Salt air commonly reaches five to 10 kilometres inland. Where no natural geography stops it, it can reach 15 to 20 kilometres.
Failure isn’t always electrical. Paint that chips or bubbles is a defect, and technically a product failure.
Gerard offers a rough illustration. A $100 fitting that fails and gets replaced six times costs $600. A contractor visit of around $200 each time adds another $1,200.
That’s for a fitting within reach of a ladder. Pole mounted outdoor fittings typically sit six to eight metres up, which means a cherry picker or lift for every visit. Add that in, and “you may as well reinstall the site after six years.”
Gerard’s answer is people who can talk to each other and understand the documents. The council or developer should engage with the original lighting designer and with whoever designed the alternative. Then they can weigh the evidence as well as the dollar figure.
He recognises council officers are in a hard position. They are spending public money.
The driver, most often. Subpar LEDs are the other common failure, wearing out and shifting colour faster than quality LEDs.
In Gerard’s experience, commonly five to 10 kilometres from the coast, and up to 15 to 20 kilometres where nothing in the landscape blocks it.
Within the defects period, usually 12 months, the contractor. After that, the cost generally falls to the owner.
By engaging with both the original designer and the party proposing the alternative, and reviewing the design documentation as well as the price.
Gerard Bowtell-Harris is a technical lighting specialist at Raylinc Lighting and a member of the Illuminating Engineering Society. He designs lighting for roads, pathways, car parks and facades with consulting engineers.
Contact the Raylinc team to specify outdoor fittings that suit Queensland conditions.