Emergency UFO High Bay Lighting for Work Areas After Power Failure — Chile
The Challenge
- A facility in Chile needed its work areas to stay lit when the mains supply failed. The luminaires in those spaces are 200W UFO high bays mounted high above the floor.
- The requirement was not a separate emergency fitting — they wanted the existing high bays themselves to keep emitting after an outage, so people could evacuate safely and continue low-light work instead of the area going dark.
- The specified emergency level was about 20% of the high bay's normal brightness, held for a 2-hour emergency period.
The Solution
- We integrated a self-contained emergency LED driver with a LiFePO4 (lithium iron phosphate) battery pack into each 200W UFO high bay. On mains failure the driver switches the luminaire to its battery and holds output at the specified ~20% — about 40W — for the full 2-hour emergency period.
- The pack is sized to the emergency load: roughly 40W × 2 h ≈ 80 Wh usable, with margin. LiFePO4 was chosen over NiCd for cycle life, no memory effect and far lower routine maintenance, so the battery holds its capacity through repeated outages instead of needing scheduled replacement.
- When mains returns, the driver recharges the emergency battery and restores full output automatically — the emergency function needs no manual maintenance.
- Built to EN 1838 / IEC 60598-2-22 emergency-lighting criteria; the 20% dim level and the 2-hour duration are the customer's specified emergency requirement.
Emergency Configuration
| Item | Specification |
|---|---|
| Luminaire | 200W UFO high bay |
| Emergency output | ~20% of normal (about 40W) |
| Emergency duration | 2 hours |
| Battery chemistry | LiFePO4 (lithium iron phosphate) |
| Battery sizing | ~40W × 2 h ≈ 80 Wh usable, with margin |
| Recovery | Automatic recharge and restore on mains return |
| Design standard | EN 1838 / IEC 60598-2-22 (customer specification binding) |
Results
- The 200W UFO high bays in the work areas now carry their own emergency backup — no separate emergency fittings to install or maintain.
- On outage the luminaire holds ~20% output (about 40W) for the full 2 hours, giving safe evacuation light and low-light working continuity.
- Auto-recovery on mains return keeps the emergency function at zero maintenance.
Related Product
Case Study FAQ
Why dim to 20% instead of full output in emergency?
Holding a 200W high bay at full output from its emergency battery would drain the pack in minutes. Dropping to about 20% (roughly 40W) still delivers the safe-light level needed for evacuation and low-light work, and it is what makes a 2-hour runtime practical from a battery that fits inside the luminaire. The 20% figure is the customer's specified emergency level; EN 1838 sets the minimum illuminance the emergency light must reach, not the dim level.
How is the 2-hour runtime achieved?
By sizing the battery to the emergency load. At roughly 40W for 2 hours the pack has to deliver about 80 Wh, and we size it with margin so the full 2 hours is still available as the cell ages. The driver holds the reduced output for the whole period rather than fading as the battery discharges.
Why LiFePO4 rather than NiCd?
LiFePO4 gives a much longer cycle life, has no memory effect and needs far less routine maintenance than NiCd, which matters on unstaffed sites where nobody wants scheduled battery replacement. It also avoids cadmium, which helps where RoHS and end-of-life handling are part of the compliance picture. NiCd still has a place where very low-temperature performance is the binding requirement, but for these sites LiFePO4's life and maintenance profile win.
Does the emergency driver fit any 200W UFO high bay?
It integrates with the luminaire's LED module as a self-contained emergency LED driver. Compatibility depends on the high bay's LED forward voltage and current, so we match the driver to the specific 200W UFO high bay used on site.
What happens when mains power returns?
The driver automatically recharges the LiFePO4 pack and returns the luminaire to normal mains operation. No manual reset is needed.
Which standard applies to this deployment?
The customer's specification is the binding requirement. The emergency driver is built to EN 1838 / IEC 60598-2-22 emergency-lighting criteria as the design reference.