Tape lighting uses electroluminescent lighting that was originally developed in the early 1900s and then improved significantly over the last 20-30 years.
There are currently 2 main vendors in the tape lighting business - Elite with a product called FlatLite® and Electro-LuminX Lighting Corp with their product Light Tape®.
Both products are similar.
- The marketing for E-Lite uses a trademark phrase “The world’s widest, thinnest, longest light bulb.”
- With Light Tape® their marketing claims it is “the thinnest, brightest, lightest, longest, flexible and most durable flat electroluminescent lamp in the world.”
Benefits of Tape Lighting
Safety - Tape Lighting is a flat, flexible, electroluminescent, plastic strip that does not generate heat and meets UL safety requirements. The lamp does not contain pollutants such as gasses, filaments, mercury or glass.
Brightness - Modern electroluminescent lamps are 2 – 3 times brighter than older technologies and can be seen for miles.
Long Life - Tape lighting is simple and robust and lasts for years with minimal maintenance.
Energy Efficient - Tape lighting is a very energy efficient form of lighting. For example a 1 inch, 100 feet long Tape Light consumes less power than a 30 watt light bulb.
Simple Installation - Simply install with double sided tape or Velcro for indoor applications or insert in a plastic extrusion for outdoor use. Tape lighting is flexible enough to wrap around corners and uneven surfaces. In addition, long light runs can be installed with a single power supply using only 1 connection for runs up to 300 feet long (91 m).
Low Maintenance - Tape lighting does not contain any bulbs to burn out, or break and therefore will not fail all at once.
Commercial Outdoor Lighting Codes
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Commercial buildings are major energy users and lighting forms the largest part of their electricity usage. There are a set of building codes that provide guidelines designed to minimize indoor and outdoor lighting. Making reductions in unnecessary lighting usage will lead to a matching reduction in electricity consumption.
The relevant codes are ANSI/ASHRAE/IESNA 90.1-2010. The 2010 version has the objective of producing buildings that are 30% more efficient than those designed according to the 2004 version of these standards.
For exterior lighting controls, the updates include these rules:
- Exterior lighting must be automatically turned off when there is sufficient daylight
- The facade and landscape lighting of commercial buildings must be shut off between the later of midnight, or business closing and the earlier of 6am, or business opening.
- All lighting that is not for the building facade or landscape lighting must have the lighting power automatically reduced by at least 30% between the later of midnight or one hour after business closing and the earlier of 6am or business opening or after no longer than 15 minutes of inactivity.
It is now more difficult to obtain exceptions from codes such ASHRAE 90.1 LPD so more alteration projects will have to meet at least some of the requirements of ASHRAE 90.1-2010.
The 2010 code only grants exception for alterations that involve less than 10% of the connected lighting load. Any alterations of more than 10% of the lighting load must now comply with LPD and automatic lighting shut-off requirements on 90.1-2010.