1. Won't my staff complain?
2. Are they difficult to install?
3. How durable are the Reflectors?
4. How do I know if my lighting is adequate after fitting the Reflectors?
5. How do I know if Reflectors are suited to my light fittings?
6. I've fitted tri-phosphor tubes in my light fittings - aren't I already saving power?
7. What do Reflectors do to my air conditioning system?
8. What should I do with the tubes I've removed?
9. If I take out one tube, won't the other tube stop working?
10. My building is fitted with new T5 fittings. Can I use Reflectors?
11. Does a tube with a Reflector produce twice the amount of light as without the Reflector?
    
    

1. Won't my staff complain?

Your staff are unlikely to notice the change. Very few of us bother to look up and stare at the lights. The office shown in the photo below only has one tube in each fitting, with Mirrorlux Reflectors fitted. Not many of the staff actually know about it - the reflectors were fitted out of hours. And the lighting power use has halved!

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2. Are they difficult to install?

The reflectors are fitted by either using a special high temperature strong double sided tape or screwing them into the light fitting (we supply both tape with the fitting). It takes approximately 5 minutes per fitting to install. Installation involves removing the diffuser (if any), taking out the two tubes, attaching the reflector, putting one tube put back in and then replacing the diffuser after wiping it clean. In some cases it may take a bit longer than 5 minutes - some fittings have diffusers that are hard to remove. For some fittings you may need to cut out a hole for the starter. And in some rooms you might require an elevated platform to meet Occupantional Health and Safety standards for working at heights. But its been our experience in most cases that 5 minutes per fitting is all it usually takes. We recommend installation by a registered electrical contractor.

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3. How durable are the Reflectors?

The reflectors are 100% metal and will last for the life of the fitting. The reflectors are made from special shiny aluminium that doesn't oxidise and will maintain its brilliant mirror-like finish for at least the life of the fitting.

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4. How do I know if my lighting is adequate after fitting Reflectors?

You can either just rely on your sense of sight, or use a lux meter to measure the lighting levels. With our inexpensive delamping kit we supply a lux meter and delamping guide, which advises what the minimum illumination levels should be for a wide range of building types and room uses. If the lighting levels are inadequate afterwards, upgrade to a brighter fluorescent tube, such as a "tri-phosphor" tube or the even brighter "quad-phosphor" tube. The use of a lux meter is the preferred method, because you can then demonstrate compliance with lighting standards and Occupational Health and Safety requirements

By using a reflector it was possible to remove one tube from this fitting - and halve its power use.

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5. How do I know if Reflectors are suited to my light fittings?

Reflectors fit most fitting with or with out diffusers. We've found that 2 types of reflector profiles cover almost all light fittings in use in Australia. Our delamping kit contains both types - the "standard" profile reflectors and the "narrow profile" reflectors.

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6. I've fitted tri-phosphor tubes in my light fittings. Aren't I already saving power?

So you've gone through your office and replaced all your old tubes with the "energy efficient" tri-phosphor tubes. I'm sorry, but this isn't saving you any energy! The tri-phosphor tubes are more energy efficient than the old "halo-phosphor" tubes - but this means while they produce more light - they still use the same amount of power. So if you've put tri-phosphor tubes throughout your office it will be brighter - but won't be using any less power. What you should now do is install reflectors and delamp half those tri-phosphor tubes. This will cut your power bills and slash your greenhouse gas pollution!

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7. What do reflectors do to my air conditioning system?

If you half the number of fluoro tubes in your office the amount of heat generated by the tubes will halve. On hot days this will mean a slightly reduced load on your air conditioning system. On colder days, when the building is being heated, slightly more energy will be required to heat the building. In most cases the net impact over 12 months on heating and cooling is negligible. In warmer climates there will be a net saving (eg Brisbane), and in cooler climates (eg Hobart) a net increase in heating energy use. Because heating is usually provided by gas or a heat pump, in very cold climates the cost and greenhouse gas saved by delamping is still much greater than that used to provide the additional heating not provided by the lamps.

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8. What should I do with the tubes I've removed?

Keep the tubes you have removed to replace the remaining tubes as they fail. Or if you've upgraded your tubes, send all the old tubes to a mercury reclaim centre. Mercury is a highly toxic substance that is persistent in the food chain, and we always recommend that old tubes be recycled in a mercury reclaim centre. And by using reflectors and cutting the total number of fluoro tubes in your building you are reducing the number of tubes that need to be disposed of each year.

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9. If I take one tube out won't the other tube stop working?

In most light fittings each tube has its own ballast and starter. So you can comfortably remove one tube and the other tube will still operate. In some rare cases the fittings will have a single ballast supplying both tubes. But this is extremely rare unless you are using T5 tubes (see comment below). If you are not sure, remove one tube from your fitting and see if the other one goes out.

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10. My building is fitted with new T5 fittings. Can I use Reflectors?

The use of a single ballast for both tubes is much more common with the new narrow T5 light fittings (these lights have a narrow tube 16mm in diameter and are a bit shorter than the standard T8 (25mm diameter) fittings). So unfortunately in this case you won't be able to delamp and use reflectors. To be sure remove one tube and see if the other goes out.

One of our customers had a problem with their single T5 light fittings - they weren't producing enough light. By fitting reflectors the light output increased, and the indoor climbing plants the lights were illuminating started growing after the reflectors were fitted!

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11. Does a tube with a Reflector produce twice the amount of light as without the Reflector?

No. In most light fittings a tube with a reflector fitted will produce around 30% more useful light than a tube without a reflector, which equates to roughly 35% less than the amount of light produced by 2 tubes without reflectors. Its been our experience that lighting in many buildings is much more than 35% above the minimum standard as specified in AS1680 - but it will depend from room to room. If lighting is more than 35% above the standard you should be able to delamp and fit reflectors. If it isn't quite 35% above the standard you should still be able to delamp and fit a reflector, but instead of replacing the original tube use a brigher "triphoshpor" or "quadphosphor" tube to increase the amount of light provided by the tube with the reflector fitted behind it. This is what was done in the office photo above. To optimise the savings you can achieve you should do a room by room lighting evaluation, using our delamping kit.

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