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.
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 - Living in a big city 20 - Caradiological Exercise Test - Gastrointestinal medical examination - Smoking 20 cigarettes a day -
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.- Average price for a continuously burning decentral electrical emergency lighting Assembly costs (€ 45 per hour ex. Travel costs Price € 0.22 per 1 KWh Annual change (14 times) at € 8.- per FL lamp 15 minutes at a time for € 45 per hour Change batteries every 4 years at € 40 per battery set 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
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.
