TRADITIONAL SPHERICAL BALLOON OR LUMAPHORE®?
Over the years, increasingly innovative, powerful and economical lighting solutions have been developed to meet the ever-changing needs of professionals. Although most lighting today is equipped with LEDs, some products, such as the site lighting balloon, take full advantage of this technology.
Find out all you need to know about site lighting in this article.
What is a site lighting balloon?
Also known as an LED balloon, this site lighting system takes its name from its spherical shape, with an outer shell made of hard, resistant polycarbonate or a tough, transparent fabric that inflates with air or helium.
With their fabric envelope, spherical LED balloons are more likely to tear if dropped or subjected to severe weather, reducing their waterproofing and impact resistance.
Tubular LED balloons, on the other hand, are designed to withstand a wide range of weather conditions, even withstanding wind gusts of up to 165 km/h! What's more, unlike traditional site balloons, they require little maintenance.
LUMAPHORE®, a powerful, durable lighting balloon made in France!
Since 2006, ELC has been developing its own LED lighting balloon solution, the LUMAPHORE®, to meet the varied needs of professionals in different situations.
But what are the differences between the traditional spherical LED flare and this new generation of tubular flares?
Tougher: LUMAPHORE® features a tough, durable polycarbonate outer tube, offering high protection with ratings up to IP65 (against dust and high-pressure water jets) and IK10 (against impact).
More powerful: with COB in the lower part of some of our models (chip-on-board), our LUMAPHORE® offer powerful lighting with high luminous efficiency (approx. 150 Lumens/watt) and low power consumption.
This technology also guarantees a service life of up to 50,000 to 100,000 hours without LED replacement.
More options: our LUMAPHORE® can be customized by adding options via a control box. Our lighting balloons can be equipped with an ON/OFF button (to switch the lighting on or off without unplugging it), a 180°/360° button (to switch the LUMAPHORE® on or off) and a dimming button (to vary the lighting intensity from 1% to 100%).
Some of our models, such as the LUMAPHORE® 600 PREMIUM, are already equipped with these three options.
360° lighting : thanks to their cylindrical shape and design, our LUMAPHORE® guarantee totally uniform, glare-free, 360° lighting.
What's more, our entire range of LUMAPHORE® lighting balloons comes with a sturdy, compact flight-case for transport. Larger models are equipped with castors for easy transport.
What should you look for when choosing your LUMAPHORE®?
There are several technical criteria to consider when choosing your lighting balloon.
The right wattage: depending on your needs and the size of your worksites, you need to select a lighting system with the right wattage. Our LUMAPHORE® range extends from 8,120 Lumens to 220,800 Lumens.
Power supply voltage: some worksites require the use of specific equipment that complies with strict standards, to ensure the safety of electrical installations and people. That's why we offer LUMAPHORE® VLV (very low voltage), suitable for use in confined, damp or submerged spaces. Unlike our standard LUMAPHORE®, which operate on 230V, this range uses a very low voltage of 12V DC or 24V AC/DC.
The size of your site: depending on your site and lighting requirements, we offer a wide range of LUMAPHORE® to illuminate areas from 300m² to 6000m².
When choosing the size of your LUMAPHORE®, bear in mind that the larger the surface to be lit, the larger the model you'll need to ensure adequate luminosity.
Here are our different LUMAPHORE® sizes:
MINILITE®: ideal for small areas, with a diameter of 22.5 cm and a length of 55 cm
LUMAPHORE® 300 and TBT : suitable for medium-sized surfaces, with a diameter of 22.5 cm and a length of 62 cm
LUMAPHORE® 600: perfect for medium-sized areas, with a diameter of 22.5 cm and a length of 91 cm
LUMAPHORE® 1000 and 1500: designed to light large spaces, with a diameter of 40 cm and a length of 93 cm.
Additional equipment for your LUMAPHORE® site lighting balloon
To accompany our LUMAPHORE® products, we offer a wide range of accessories, enabling them to be adapted to specific needs and situations.
The titan kit all-in-one solution designed by ELC. This is a special flight-case model in which a LUMAPHORE® is stored, along with its tripod and rigging kit. The flight-case is equipped with castors and two handles for easy handling. This option is available for models 300, 600 and TBT.
Tripods: we offer two tripod models. A telescopic tripod with a maximum height of 4 meters, suitable for LUMAPHORE® TBT, 300 and 600, and a winch tripod with a maximum height of 5 meters and capable of supporting a heavier load. The latter is used for models 1000 and 1500.
Carrying case The LUMAPHORE® transport bag: to protect and easily move the LUMAPHORE® mast .
Tripod bracing kit For securing your tripod to the ground to reinforce its stability in bad weather or strong winds.
Ballast kit Additional weights to attach to your tripod legs and reinforce the stability of your LUMAPHORE®.
Sleeve adapters Depending on the needs of your installations and the equipment you already own, we can adapt the LUMAPHORE® mounting sleeve to your requirements (DIN 24 mm, 26 mm, 28 mm...).
Tripod castors LUMAPHORE® tripod castors: if you need to move your LUMAPHORE® around frequently, it can be a real hassle. For this purpose, we offer castor kits to be fitted under the tripod legs.
Generator bracket For mounting a generator at the base of your tripod.
Magnetic bracket For hanging the LUMAPHORE® and fixing it to a metal bracket.
Not sure which model to choose? Our experts are here to advise you - just contact us!
What are the advantages of our LUMAPHORE® construction lighting balloons?
Whether you're managing a rail or construction project, using a lighting balloon offers many advantages for your worksite.
With the right lighting, you can get on with your work even after dark, avoid delays and meet your deadlines.
What's more, LED balloons help to enhance worker safety. Material handlers, workers and machine operators can work as safely as in daylight.
A few examples of our customers' applications
