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 The lighting industry of South Africa is represented by the
Illumination Engineering Society of South Africa (IESSA)


South African experts on various topics in the lighting technology field serve on the
CIE international committees responsible for the development of  
standards for the different aspects of illumination. 

  

IESSA represents southern Africa internationally and thereby acts as the 

National Committee of the CIE (Commition Internationale De L'Eclairage)  
IESSA members to be certified "competent persons"

IESSA members will be requested to apply to be certified by the IESSA Development Committee as "competent lighting designers/persons" in the various fields of speciality as ratified.

The society believes that full IESSA members who follow the Society's guidance and the published lighting design guides should be deemed competent persons.

IESSA registered designers should be versed in the understanding and interpretation of photometric data, the performance of luminaires and light sources and the application of the lighting codes, and can be described as competent persons who can design lighting solutions.

Application forms will be available on the IESSA website at www.iessa.org.za or from the IESSA Branch Development Committee chairpersons. Completed applications will be ratified by the Development Committee. Successful applicants will receive ratification cards and will be listed on the IESSA website.
 
Training courses for May and June 2014

The following Lighting School and Lighting Course will be presented over the next two months:

Lighting School

This course will be of value to everyone who designs and inspects lighting systems, in particular:
  • Municipal engineers, technicians and managers.
  • Building and industrial engineers, technicians and managers.
  • Electrical contractors and certified electricians.
  • Lighting equipment suppliers and buyers.
  • Electrical engineers - professionals and students requiring a competency to design and measure the illumination levels of an installation.
  It will cover the following:
  • Eye and vision.
  • Colour.
  • Units and terms used in illumination.
  • Photometry.
  • Light sources and their control gear.
  • Interior design requirements, calculations and measurements of lighting.
  • Luminaires - interior and exterior.
  • Emergency lighting regulations and design requirements.
  • Interior lighting of retail stores, hotels, restaurants, commercial and industrial buildings.
  • Use of a light meter and actual site measurements - interior and exterior sites.
  • Street lighting requirements, calculations, design and measurements of lighting.
  • Exterior lighting requirements for fa�ade, security, sports, precincts, etc.
  • Lighting economics and tariffs, and pay-back periods.
For more information, contact sue@iessa.org.za

Photometry Practical Course

This course will be of value to all who design, use or maintain lighting systems, in particular:
  • Building designers.
  • Interior and exterior decorators.
  • Energy service providers.
  • Lighting equipment suppliers.
  • Architects.
  • Building services engineers and electrical engineers.
The course will cover the following:
  • Calibration of light sources.
  • Integrating sphere photometry.
  • Distribution goniometer photometry.
The course will be of a practical nature and is specifically aimed at persons who require a better understanding of photometric measurements. It will be presented at the SABS, Pretoria on 3 - 4 June 2014.

All courses may be viewed on the IESSA website, www.iessa.org.za.

For more information, contact sue@iessa.org.za
Lighting Quality and Energy Efficiency Conference 2014, Kuala Lumpur

The IESSA CIE Committee will be represented by three delegates at Lighting Quality and Energy Efficiency between 23 and 26 April in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.



 
VC8043: the compulsory specification for incandescents

by Connie Jonker, IESSA Technical Liaison

VC8043, the compulsory specification for incandescent lamps, has been published but has not yet been reflected on the NRCS website. This specification covers the more efficient incandescent lamp and lays down requirements for light output (lamp efficacy) and a life requirement of >1000 h.  


The following three standards have been circulated for final voting to SABS TC064 committee members, and it is expected that these standards will be published within the next few months.
  • ARP 032 Guidelines for the modification of luminaires for tubular fluorescent lamps
  • SANS 1662 Self-ballasted LED tubular lamps
  • SANS 1664 Semi-luminaires for T5 fluorescent lamps
It should be noted that these standards will be published together. SANS 1662 and SANS 1664 are standards for products which can only be fitted to luminaires which have been modified in accordance with ARP 032. These standards specify that the lamp feed will only be through one of the lamp holders, while the lamp holder at the opposite end is not electrically connected and only serves as holding the lamp in place.

You may be aware that, when T5 retrofit luminaires were first marketed in South Africa, there were a number of issues regarding the safety of some of these products. In some of these units, the lamp cap pins of the other end became energised when one end of the T5 retrofit was inserted in the lamp holder (when the luminaire was switched on). This could certainly would cause a safety risk.

This product was, however not covered by the compulsory safety specification VC8055, just as it was not covered by SANS 60598, which required that semi-luminaires should be either connected through bayonet lamp holders or edison screw lamp holders. The T5 retrofit fitted with G5 lamp caps therefore falls outside the scope of SANS 60598.

European countries were strongly opposed to T5 retrofits but these products showed merit and flooded the market through Eskom's energy saving drive.

The only alternative open to the SABS TC064 was to write a standard and recommended practice for the T5 semi-luminaire to ensure that the product is safe

The LED tubular lamp requirements covered by SANS 1662 are based on the IEC standard but differ in that these lamps are also only electrically supplied at the one lamp cap while the other lamp cap is not electrically connected. The luminaire must therefore be wired as described in ARP 032.

A new standard, SATS 17576 LED Luminaires - performance requirements, has proceeded through the working group stages and is now being edited. It will be published for comment shortly. This standard is specifically aimed at the performance of LED luminaires and covers in a fair amount of detail on the photometric test methods to be applied.

While this standard makes use of various new concepts, it will be published as a South African Technical Standard (SATS) and will be revised one year after publication. Its status may then change to that of National Standard (SANS).
IESSA says farewell to Brian Rowell

 

IESSA says farewell to Brian Rowell of Lightworx, who will be retiring to the UK.

 

Brian was born in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, in the UK and qualified as a mining electrical engineer in 1969. After immigrating to South Africa, he worked as technical manager at Thorn Lighting and, later, as technical sales and marketing manager at Wotan Lamps, which became Osram in 1988.

In that year, Brian left to establish the first independent lighting consultancy in South Africa, The Lighting Advice Bureau. He then emigrated back to the UK before returning to SA shortly after to become technical support manager for Voltex, with specific responsibility for Philips lamps.

He left Voltex in 2000 to re-establish his lighting consultancy under the name Lightworx. Brian is the author of the renowned South African lighting text-book:Lighting Design and Application - a practical guide for lighting practitioners published by EE Publishers.

Greetings: from Oz

Carrol Beattie sent us photos of the biltong maker in use. IESSA presented her with the biltong maker as a farewell gift last year. Carrol has moved to Australia, to live there with her family. 

 

  

IESSA KwaZulu-Natal AGM

During the KwaZulu-Natal Branch annual general meeting (AGM) in March, the chairperson reported that the presentations hosted during the year included:
  • "Safe houses"
  • "Innovations for a greener future"
  • "Building automation"
  • "Waste management"
  • "Light pollution"
  • "Eskom systems"
The branch also hosted a visit to the gas to electricity site, among others. 

Next, the Finance portfolio reported that the branch's finance centered mainly around providing snacks for the functions it hosted and for delegates attending the courses.

Membership pointed out the benefits of joining IESSA and the savings offered to members attending the courses when attending the courses. Members were urged to help recruit new members.

No nominations for new branch committee members were received and the existing committee agreed to stand again. 

A presentation following the AGM The title was the uncomfortable truth that comes out of the dark room. This enlightened us as to what can go wrong with testing and where some claims did not match up and why.   

 

Obituary: Colin Marran

Colin Marran, longstanding IESSA Division 5 (Exterior Lighting and Other Applications) representative, has passed away. IESSA extends its condolences to Colin's widow, Robin Marran, their daughter Katherine and grandchildren, Melanie and Dominique.