ATEX zones are characterized by spaces made up of a mixture of air and flammable substances, whether gases, vapours, mists or dust.In contact with sources of heat or sparks, these reagents can cause an explosion or ignite.The installation of electrical equipment and light sources in ATEX spaces therefore requires a set of precautions, defined with the help of a preliminary study and definition of the zones.José Manuel da Silva, ATEX Product Manager, AE&T, discusses the rules to be observed in ATEX zones, the constraints for the installation and management of lighting and presents new developments in the field.Can you define the ATEX zones and their different levels?José Manuel da Silva – The ATEX zones are classified into three categories, which define the levels of protection of the devices to be installed according to the different spaces.Category 1 implies a very high level of protection, due to the constant presence of gas.Category 2 implies a high level of protection, as an explosive mixture may be present regularly or probably.Category 3 requires a normal level of protection, with an explosive mixture having a low capacity to manifest.Certification bodies consider the ventilation or containment of spaces when defining zones.These three levels of protection are valid for both gas and dust.There are therefore six zones in total, three gas zones classified as 1G, 2G, 3G and three dust zones classified as 1D, 2D and 3D.For dust, the compression and expansion of gases creates a risk of ignition of compounds, in particular flour, wood chips, or even sugar.The mixture of dust, oxygen and heat can create an explosion, and dust is considered to be more unpredictable than gas.The equipment chosen therefore depends on the location.Zoning is the responsibility of the company manager, who must enter it in the single document, in the document relating to protection against explosions (DRCPE).Larger companies use certification bodies to do zoning, while smaller companies sometimes overqualify zones so they don't take risks.The higher the category of the equipment, the higher its price.What are the constraints of ATEX zones regarding lighting?JMDS – For example, fluorescent tubes take a little time to light up, generate a small spark and heat.For an explosion to occur, a spark is not necessarily necessary, because some compounds react to a little too high heat.It is for this reason that it is forbidden to use your mobile phone in service stations, because the heating of the components of the phone could be enough to generate an explosion.In ATEX zones, it is therefore necessary to install luminaires that heat up as little as possible.The LED has therefore brought a real improvement.In ATEX, there are several constraints for installing the luminaires.It is necessary to know where to install the luminaire to have a power supply, because homogeneous lighting is necessary according to the activity of the zone.There are also product constraints.The luminaires should glare as little as possible, as this could be dangerous for operations.The height of the installation spaces complicates the maintenance of the products, because ATEX luminaires are much heavier than standard solutions.What solutions are recommended today?JMDS – The definition of the zones is the starting point of the installation.It is then necessary to draw up a plan of the site to know the environment and carry out an illumination study.Finally, it is important to choose the appropriate equipment and its place of installation, in order to provide uniform lighting, without glare and with as few products as possible, in order to reduce maintenance as much as possible.The DIAlux software allows you to carry out lighting studies and retrieve the results in lux.In addition to DIAlux, our proprietary ChalmLite software works on the same principle, but in a much simpler way.ChalmLite software integrates all AE&T products and allows third-party products to be imported to perform lighting simulations for presentation to customers.Depending on the spaces of the ATEX site, the lighting levels required differ.Warehouses must have 125 lux, compared to 450 lux for offices and 625 lux for assembly workshops.The lighting points must be defined according to these needs.Then, you have to choose the most suitable product according to the area.In passageways, portholes are recommended.In warehouses, we refer our customers to pendant lights for downward lighting.Outdoors, a projector is better suited.For one-off operations, a transportable luminaire, mini-projector type, is particularly suitable.AE&T offers a new generation of ATEX and industrial led luminaires.How to manage lighting in ATEX zones?JMDS – Lighting management solutions are under development with us.Most of the requests relate to solutions for monitoring the operating status of luminaires, in order to allow managers to carry out preventive maintenance.Today, information on the state of the luminaire is accessible by visual control, with colored lights depending on the intervention to be carried out, which is quite time-consuming.Regarding the control itself and the creation of lighting scenarios, solutions should be released soon.This would reduce the lighting time of the luminaires and reduce energy consumption and light pollution.In ATEX, it is not uncommon to see lights on day and night, regardless of the level of activity.When a component is added to an ATEX luminaire, it is mandatory to retake all the certifications.If we integrate connectivity, our luminaires will therefore have to go through a certification process.Can you present your solutions?JMDS – Our latest product released is a projector, the Evolution X, which is a led version of our older Evolution generation.The floodlight is available in different powers, three flows, 20,000, 30,000 and 40,000 lm, and can replace the traditional 400 W high pressure sodium floodlight.The main novelty is its lightness, which is a key point for ATEX zones.The source is sealed and requires no maintenance, and connection modules and batteries are separate.It is possible to order the luminaire in two separate parts, to install the source at the top and the junction box at the bottom, in order to considerably simplify maintenance.We also offer a stand-alone luminaire, Projecta X, which runs on batteries.Finally, one of the current challenges in ATEX is the renewal of lights, which are gradually being replaced by LEDs.For all of our old fluorescent luminaires, we offer modules for retrofitting.The installers just have to extract the fluorescent sources to replace them with LED sources suitable for the old equipment.Interview by Alexandre ArèneYour email address will not be published.Mandatory fields are marked with *Notify me of follow-up comments by email.Notify me of new posts by email.I have read and agree to the terms of use