Using Lightcloud with Emergency Fixtures

To use Lightcloud devices in emergency or life safety scenarios:

• If the emergency fixtures are designated

  to remain “on” at all times, than we have UL approval to use 0-10V dimming on the the emergency fixture via an adjacent Controller. This allows them to remain on and mirror the dim level of other fixtures. In the event of power loss, resistance would be lost to the emergency fixture and it would come up to 100% output.

• If the fixture is powered via backup lighting panel/generator and only has one source at the fixture and must be shut on/off;

  than a shunt has been used by the source of power. In other words, a shunt relay is utilized in the area in which the utility and/or generator power is sourced. This would allow power to be switched from Utility to Backup in a life safety situation.

• We have installed shunt relays on our fixtures in the rare circumstance that both power sources are located at the fixture location as well.

• If a backup battery is used within the fixture, than there is no issue at all utilizing a Lightcloud Controller on the fixture defined under UL924. When power is lost, it would itself switch to its own source of power and would fire the fixture. No shunt would be necessary.

• In the event that the fixture is low voltage, or when dealing with tripping of a fire alarm, than Low voltage relays have been put in place utilizing our controller to pull in the coil of the contactor.

Electrical Note:The Lightcloud Controller and Ceiling Sensor releases resistance on the 0-10V wires when power is lost to the device.

Emergency Battery Backup Fixtures

These kinds of fixtures have a backup battery which is built into the fixture allowing it to illuminate in the event of a sudden loss in power. Battery backup fixtures use two main wires when connecting the fixture (excluding the neutral):

• Switched hot: this wire is used to turn the fixture on and off commonly with a switch leg to tell the fixture when to be lit. When wiring these fixtures using Lightcloud, this wire would be used on the load side of our controller/ceiling sensor; this would once again tell the fixture when to operate.

• Unswitched hot: this wire is used to not only monitor power to the fixture, but to charge the battery so it is ready in the event of a power failure. Therefore, when using Lightcloud with fixtures with battery backups, the electrician would want to utilize the constant power feed going to the controller in conjunction with the "unswitched" hot wire of the fixture. This would accomplish powering both the controller and the backup battery simultaneously. Next you would wire the "switched" hot. This wire would then be tied to the load wires of the controller/sensor, allowing the fixtures to be turned on and off with the Lightcloud user interface or other control device.

Fixtures Wired from Emergency Backup Panels

Fixtures wired this way are powered from panels that are designed to be turned on utilizing backup power from a generator. These fixtures are under utility power under normal circumstances, but the panel from which they are fed is designed to be turned back on by another power source in the event of utility power loss. Therefore, under normal wiring situations, every third or fourth fixture is wired from a secondary circuit that is fed from a separate "back fed"-capable panel.

In this situation, the best practice is to utilize only the 0-10V dimming wires on the particular fixture that has the emergency circuit. (In other words, do not utilize the power from the controller/sensor.) This will allow the fixture to be dimmed in conjunction with other fixtures on a separate circuit. Note: Lightcloud controllers release 0-10v resistance when power is lost to the controller/sensor). Therefore, if power were to go out to the controller, this would allow for maximum fixture output when the emergency fixtures are fired from the backup power source.

0-10V wiring must be run between the emergency fixtures within an overall zone using a controller/sensor to allow for proper and uniform dimming control. You may not use a controller on an emergency circuit,as the controller will return the fixture to the last light level that was used on the controller. Furthermore, if the particular fixture was scheduled to be off at the time of power failure, the controller will not know to allow power to pass through the controller to the fixture, and your fixture will not light.

When dealing with emergency fixtures, it is absolutely vital to ensure the proper understanding of electrical wiring in order to maintain safety. Utilizing a licensed electrician to perform these wiring connections will ensure that your building meets all applicable codes as well maintains safety in the event of an emergency.