Posted on: 29th November 2004, United Kingdom E-mail this page to a friend

Many seasoned UK lighting industry professionals will be keenly aware of the downward price spiral which has affected many areas, not least, the horticultural lighting market. It sounds good for consumers, but what about electrical safety?

In theory, cheaper systems should not jeapordise electrical safety because in most cases, components are manufactured by reputable companies and are then incorporated into lighting equipment by luminaire manufacturers in accordance with relevant safety standards.

However, there is a major safety issue to consider when lighting control components are sold for domestic use, particularly in horticultural lighting where consumers purchase high intensity discharge (HID) lighting for indoor plant growing applications customers.

HID lighting circuits can be particularly hazardous because the circuit includes an electronic ignitor which is required initially to strike the lamp. This ignitor can momentarily generate up to 5000 volts. Therefore it is absolutely essential when this type of equipment is sold for domestic use, that it is supplied as a fully encapsulated or enclosed unit with a pre-wired 13A plug and a suitably rated connector for the lamp.

Sadly, in many cases this isn't happening and loose components eg. lamps, ballasts ignitors and capacitors are increasingly sold into the domestic market with the expectation that the consumer will takes on the role of a manufacturer and wire the whole thing together.

In addition to breaching trading standard laws, this is extremely dangerous and it is likely that sooner or later someone will suffer injury as a result. Conditions in domestic grow rooms are often very damp and this just adds to the hazards involved. Asking customers to wire up high voltage equipment is a very risky activity for retailers and in the event of a serious injury or fatality there would be a thorough investigation of the circumstances and a very close focus on the shop that provided the components. The resultant publicity would be highly negative and would reflect badly on the whole industry.

This is an extremely competitive market and understandably, many retailers feel pressurised to get the best deal, however much of the pressure is brought about by the fact that the horticultural lighting market is becoming flooded with unsafe systems.

It must surely be time for reputable companies involved this industry to take a stand on safety and perhaps even establish a code of practice. This would be good for the suppliers as well as protecting the public.

Meanwhile, the consumer would best be advised that purchasing a well designed and properly constructed horticultural lighting system with plug-in connectors will of course cost more initially but is simple and safe to install and will save time and trouble and may even save a life.