A visitor to the LuxLive 2013 lighting show asked this question of Voltimum’s Lighting Expert Panel concerning earth leakage currents from LED lighting products installed in major projects, and whether there will be unwanted effects on the electrical installation. It was answered by Giuliano Digilio, Head of Technical Services, ECA (Theme – Lighting):
This Q & A is one of thousands posted in our Technical Expertise area, and answered on a daily basis by our Voltimum Experts.
Question: Is there anything that the electrical designers and electrical contractors should know about earth leakage currents from LED lighting products installed on a large scale (major projects), and the effects that this may have on the electrical installation?
The concern is that complete projects are now being designed and built using solely LED lighting products and this could have earth leakage problems, which could cause unwanted tripping of electrical switchgear and circuit protective devices.
Answer: There should be no need to view LED lighting installations any differently from high frequency (HF) fluorescent lighting installations.
The advice to electrical designers and electrical contractors should be to follow the same design principles as they would for HF fluorescent lighting installations, which also have earth leakage issues.
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