[layerslider id="2"]

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Click on the + sign to view the answer. If your question is not listed, please feel free to contact us by sending an email to info@lighting-solutions.co.nl or by calling telephone number 0031341-360111

Yes, Betalux ™ emergency lighting may be used on ships and oil rigs. This form of escape route signaling is authorized by: Det Norske Veritas, United States Coast Guard, Lloyds Register of shipping and the Canadian Goast Guard.

Betalux ™ emergency lighting are temperature resistant. Operation is not affected by temperature variations. Temperature range between –60 ° C and +80 ° C, so very suitable for use in cold stores and freezer rooms or in very hot places eg in a bakery.

Betalux ™ emergency lighting does not cause EMC disturbances (think of pacemakers, monitors and sensitive electronic equipment) and are also not sensitive to EMC disturbances from the outside. This makes Betalux ™ signs ideal for use in hospitals and airplanes, for example.

Betalux ™ emergency lighting are explosion proof. The unique design means there are no electrical components and no ignition circuits to spark. Ideal for use in hazardous areas such as drilling platforms, refineries, grain silos, natural gas pumping stations and many other applications.

Betalux ™ emergency lighting is insensitive to vibration. Very suitable for use in ships, engine rooms and aircraft

Betalux ™ emergency lighting are virtually maintenance free. No regular replacement of lamps and batteries. No chance of defective electronics. No complicated self-test systems. Depending on the environment, wipe with a damp cloth. Use a non-aggressive household cleaning agent for heavy soiling. Never use solvents such as thinner or benzene. Annual visual inspection for proper functioning is recommended. On the edge of the frame is a sticker with the year of production. After 15 years, the light output is below the standard and the escape route signage must be replaced. Do not throw it away, but return it to your Betalux ™ supplier for responsible processing (if you purchase a new escape light at the same time, return it free of charge).

The costs of a Betalux escape route markings are zero, they do not absorb any electrical energy. Since the escape route signage is not connected to the mains, you save considerable costs on your electricity consumption. You could not wish for better energy savings. For this reason, they have been used in airplanes for many years. The principle is simple, there are tubes filled with Tritium gas in the escape route signage. This gas has the property that it activates the fluorescent layer, so that the tubes emit a soft light. Continuously, without interruption. Even if the power fails for a longer period of time. For the sake of clarity, only the sign is illuminated, so it is not emergency lighting as you often see with the usual combination luminaire escape route signaling / emergency lighting.

Betalux ™ emergency lighting does not require an electrical connection. They always burn for their 15 year life. You save expensive cabling, which is easy to use in existing buildings. No chopping and breaking work to apply an electrical supply. Ideal for monumental buildings or glass fronts. First determine the correct place for the escape route signaling on the basis of the applicable rules for your building. You can obtain information about the correct measures that must be taken from your municipality or the fire brigade. In general, the exit signs must be visible from any point in that room and indicate the (emergency) exit or escape direction.

Our government also stimulates the use of Betalux escape route signs by granting a 13.5% energy investment allowance (EIA).
For information click here

In addition to the old pictograms (NEN-6088), we now also supply the new pictograms in accordance with NEN-EN-ISO 7010. We recommend that you work with the new symbols for all new-build projects and total renovation projects, and only use the old pictograms to supplement existing objects. See downloads for more information.

These are 100 mcd (normal), 300 mcd (super) and 700 mcd (ultra), even 14x more intense than DIN6710 (Pikt-o-Norm), making escape routes and indications extra clearly visible.

For tunnels, a minimum of 260 mcd is prescribed (required), but also in technical areas (where there is little light) we may have signs and accessories up to 700 mcd.

The combination of reflective and afterglowing is completely unique, so you have signs that stand out even better both during the day and at night. Even when no light is shined on them, they are visible in the dark (glow in the dark)

Temperature -40 to + 80 degrees.

Applications: escape route signs, markings and fire fighting equipment

Magnet signs

These signs are magnetic and provided with a sticker incl. protective laminate, lifespan of 5 to 7 years outdoors.

Temperature -30 to + 55 degrees.

Applications: Freezing cells etc.

Ultradestructable Vinyl

Vinyl decals with crumbling action (when removed) with a life of 5 years outdoors.

Temperature -40 to +80 degrees.

Applications: Inspection stickers and stickers that are not (to difficult) removable.

Plastic signs

These signs are screen printed or provided with a sticker incl. protective laminate and have a lifespan of 5 to 7 years outdoors.

Temperature -40 to +70 degrees.

Applications: Standard situations.

Signs are flat or as a traffic sign with a folded edge for mounting on a bottle or tube pole.

Available in reflective Class 1 (5 to 7 years), Class 2 (8 to 12 years) and Class 3 (diamond grade) with a technical lifespan of up to 20 years.

But you can also contact us for reflective stickers and accessories.

Applications: RVV signs and escape route signs along public roads or railways, but also outdoor signage at large companies or on industrial sites that want good visibility for their (safety) signs 24/7.

Aluminum signs are screen printed or provided with a polyester sticker incl. protective laminate with a lifespan of 5-7 years outdoors.

Temperature -40 to +120 degrees

Applications: Areas with higher temperature and outside.

Sublimation signs

These signs are sublimated and provided with a coating, which means they have a lifespan of 10 to 15 years outside.

Plates are vandal-proof and UV-resistant.

Temperature -40 to + 150 degrees.

Applications: Food industry or places where a lot of cleaning is done (under high pressure).

Sticker (standard)

Vinyl stickers have a lifespan of 3 to 5 years outdoors.

These stickers are scratch resistant and (limited) UV resistant.

Temperature -30 to +90 degrees.

Applications: Standard situations.

Polyester + Overlaminate

Stickers that do not shrink or expand with temperature difference and last between 5 and 7 years outside.

These stickers are scratch resistant and are provided with a polyester laminate, which is UV resistant and therefore the colors remain beautiful for much longer.

Temperature -40 to +120 degrees.

Application: Pipe marking and machines.

Sticker (incl. Protective laminate) matt or gloss

Vinyl stickers with a lifespan of 5 to 7 years outside.

These stickers are scratch resistant and are provided with a laminate, which is UV resistant and therefore the colors remain beautiful for much longer.

Temperature -30 to +90 degrees.

Applications: Outdoors and in places where higher demands are made.

In the Code of Federal Regulations (Title 10, Part 20), the US government has stated that the permitted limit for exposure to artificial everyday radiation of the population is 300 millirem (= 3 mSv) per year.

The limit for an exposed employee in the Netherlands is 20 mSv. You can see from the graph that even in the exceptional case that an emergency light tube breaks, there is no significant health risk. In the graph you can see some of the forms of radiation to which we are exposed in daily life on a scale from 0 – 8700 millirem.

A tube in the emergency lighting breaks – 5mSv
Living in a big city 20 – 20mSv
Caradiological Exercise Test – 45mSv
Gastrointestinal medical examination – 65mSv
Smoking 20 cigarettes a day – 90mSv

Below you will find a comparison of the costs of Betalux emergency lighting compared to traditional emergency lighting.

To keep

To keep

Type Betalux Emergency lighting Electric Emergency Lighting (21 VA)
Power consumption (21 VA) 0 21
(1) Purchase price € 320.- € 200.-
(2) Labor costs assembly € 8.- € 45.-
Labor wages wiring € 0.- €?
Subtotal one-off costs € 328.- > € 245.-
(3) Energy costs € 0.- € 606.-
(4) New lamps € 0.- € 112.-
(5) Change labor lamps € 0.- € 157.-
(6) New batteries € 0.- € 120.-
(7) Change labor charges for batteries € 0.- € 67.-
Subtotal usage costs € 0.- € 1062.-
Total costs over 15 years (131,000 burning hours) € 328.- > € 1307.-
  1. Average price for a continuously burning decentral electrical emergency lighting
  2. Assembly costs (€ 45 per hour ex. Travel costs
  3. Price € 0.22 per 1 KWh
  4. Annual change (14 times) at € 8.- per FL lamp
  5. 15 minutes at a time for € 45 per hour
  6. Change batteries every 4 years at € 40 per battery set
  7. 30 minutes at a time for € 45 per hour

Energy consumption

Emergency lighting consumes an enormous amount of energy. In addition, in the Netherlands we produce a total of 456 million kilos of CO2 emissions per year in emergency evacuation lighting and standby or replacement lighting. The so-called combination luminaires for escape route lighting and escape route indication consume a large part of the energy consumption. For example, in addition to the environmentally harmful CO2 emissions, there are also a lot of costs such as inspection, maintenance and energy consumption that come back every year.

The transition from fluorescent to LED already saves around 40% to 50% energy, but these are still much more expensive than the emergency lighting from Betalux because this emergency lighting consumes no energy at all and does not require maintenance and checks.

After 15 years, the Betalux emergency lighting no longer emits enough light to meet legal standards. After replacement, the elaborated payment lights are collected and dismantled. The finished tube with a Tritium / Helium-3 mixture is returned to the factory in Canada. Tritium decays to Helium-3 (= noble gas) under the emission of Beta radiation. After 12.35 years (the so-called half-life) the tube contains exactly 2/3 Helium-3 and 1/3 Tritium gas. At the factory in Canada, the Tritium gas is separated from the Helium-3 gas and reused in new signs. The borosilicate glass is recycled.

Although pay-lights (general name) do not pose a health risk (see the previous question), the Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment states that pay-lights should not be released into the environment. That is why we aim to take back as many used payment lights as possible for regeneration. If you purchase Betalux ™ products from us, we will take back your old payment lights free of charge, regardless of the make. If you would like to return your old payment lights from us or another manufacturer without purchasing Betalux ™ products, this is also possible, but then we ask a small fee per pay light. The surrendered pay lights are recycled by us. If you would like more information about this, please contact us by phone 0341 360111 or info@lighting-solutions.co.nl .

No, betalights (the general name for products such as escape signs from Betalux ™) consist of tubes filled with tritium gas. This gas has the property that it activates the fluorescent layer, so that the tubes emit a soft light. Tritium (symbol T or 3H) is a very light radioactive material, which is produced in small quantities in nature (atmosphere) by interaction of cosmic rays with deuterium nuclei in water vapor. The radioactive radiation from tritium does not penetrate human skin. Tritium can also be factory produced. However, the amount of radioactive radiation in betalight tubes is so small that it is hardly detectable and does not pose a health risk. The amount of radioactivity that ends up in the environment when a betalight tube breaks or burns is much less than our Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment and the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission find acceptable to the public and therefore does not pose a health risk. This certainly applies to Betalight tubes that are intact. These tubes are made of borosilicate glass. This glass is often used in the chemical and pharmaceutical industry (including in laboratories), is practically unbreakable, heat-resistant and has the additional advantage that it does not transmit the already low level of radioactive radiation from tritium. In short, Betalight tubes are completely safe and therefore do not pose a health risk.

Even a long-term power failure will not affect the operation of Betalux ™ escape route signage. Where other escape route signs stop working after one to three hours, ours continues to function. An example: In Italy some time ago the power had been cut across the country. This took longer than a day in some places. The emergency lighting also went out after some time (1 to 3 hours). This can lead to dangerous situations

This form of escape route signaling is permitted in the Netherlands according to the regulation on disclosure of the use of ionizing radiation of 18 December 2002 Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment reg. no. SAS / 2001144917 No. IA9 and the regulation for consumer articles radiation protection no.SAS / 2001144737. Published in the Government Gazette number 248 of December 24, 2002. Betalux ™ signs are manufactured under ISO 9001 and are provided with pictograms according to NEN 6088 & NEN-EN ISO 7010; comply with the recognition distance and autonomous time of NEN-EN 1838; are tested according to BS-5499 part 2; ANS N540; comply with NFPA Life Safe Code 101 and Directive 92/58 EEC; are UL listed and approved by US-NRC. Of course it is very important that the correct installation location is chosen (see also question 01).

The answer is always yes, unless it is a private house. The 2003 Building Decree of the Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment is very clear on this point. Whether it concerns a shop, café or sports canteen, there must be good escape route signage. Also, a distinction is no longer made between new and existing buildings.

Unfortunately yes. To comply with the regulations of the Dutch government, you must replace the escape route signage with text by the pictograms. All this as described in the NEN 6088 standard or the NEN-EN 7010. Betalux ™ escape route signage more than meets this standard. Mixed use of exit / exit escape route signage and pictograms is also prohibited. The underlying reason of the government for the use of images (pictograms) is the language independent signaling in our multicultural society.