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Incident Lighting - Lighting Towers
April 2007
Lighting Towers are an innovative and environmentally friendly way of providing light at incident scenes. They possess a wide variety of recently modernised functions which are featured below under a range of categorised benefits. Area 2 are currently using this as their primary lighting source at incident scenes.
Ecological Benefits
The tower has high efficiency luminaires which require less power than traditional systems resulting in lower fuel consumption and therefore fewer emissions into the atmosphere.
The lamps are supported by a fully hydraulic, 9.1m, 360 degree rotating single axis mast using an eco-friendly water based hydraulic system. The fluids used have a low BOD (Biological Oxygen Demand) causing minimal damage to watercourses and aquatic life in the unlikely event of spillages, although the tower is fully bunded and can contain 100% of fuel and engine fluid.
The tower’s noise emissions are below that required for hearing protection regulation requirements and it also complies with the latest Euro 3 exhaust emissions regulations.
The design ensures that light pollution is minimised and in addition the position of the luminaires can be precisely controlled from ground level.
Safety Benefits
The tower has AMOSS (Automatic Mast Operating Safety System) fitted as standard and uses low glare lamps to increase the safety of motorists and those working around the equipment. The lamps can be adjusted by a single person at ground level using a push button operation, and the tower can also be connected to 220v or 110v external power supplies. The tower weighs 750kg, is only 2.5m long, meaning that it is small enough to fit across the width of a lorry. Alternatively, the tower can be towed to site where adjustable stabiliser legs ensure the tower can be used on uneven ground. The tower also comprises road lights, central craning and forklift pockets, and a tie down eye on each corner, and is suitable for use in wind speeds of up to 100kph.
Operational Benefits
The tower has a run time of 200 hours and a fuel consumption rate of 0.6 litres per hour compared to the 60 hours and 2.25 litres per hour offered by traditional towers. The manufacturer claims that based on an average diesel price of 75 pence per litre, using ten towers on a site over a twelve hour period will save £4,428 per month compared to traditional lighting tower designs.
The manufacturer was unable to specify the maximum area that the tower can illuminate (the balloon has a capability of 10,000m2 and Scene Illumination 15,000m2) although they would be happy to demonstrate the ability of the tower to prospective customers.
Overall, the tower appears to offer an environmentally friendly, cost effective and easily transportable alternative to the traditional lighting towers currently available.
