September, 2010 Newsletter
Employee Spotlight | Ask the Electric Expert | Ask the Lighting Expert | Electric Product | Lighting Product
Kings of the Road - Outside Salesmen; Zero or Hero?By Carol Aronson, VP Topaz Lighting When you think of "salesman", what's the association that springs to mind? Perhaps it's the pesky guy at the car dealership following you around trying to add undercoating to your buy? Maybe it's someone calling during dinner to solicit carpet cleaning. They are known as "transactional salesmen" and are the opposite of what a good business-to-business salesman does.
Kevin Cornell
David Janusz, Western Region Manager, has 25 years of being on the road and in the air. He enjoys getting the word out about the many services and products Topaz offers. "I'm a people person. It's the chance to see different parts of the country and meet new people which makes this job rewarding."
David Janusz (pictured right)
In talking to the outside sales force at Topaz a commonality emerges; the hours are long; up early to beat traffic or catch a flight, meet a customer for breakfast. Last call of the day is often 4:30pm and can run into a dinner meeting. It may also be back to the home office or hotel to return phone calls, answer emails, or prepare reports. Regional salesmen spend much time away from their families. The frustrations are many; ugly traffic, road closures, cancelled meetings, fatigue etc.
One thing they all say is the pros outweigh the cons. There's the variety of being somewhere different every day. It's getting the word out and seeing the business grow, and helping people succeed in their businesses. All of them developed friendships that have grown over the years and get the satisfaction of a job well done. Carl Budrewicz, VP of Topaz Electric has been travelling for 40 years. He laughs and says, "If you cut me, I would bleed ½" set screws." He feels the biggest change over time has been the ability of the customer to get 10 vendors quoting within an hour of receiving a request. This puts the challenge on the salesperson to retain the business and leads right back to the strength of the relationships they build. "The best part of the job is still the wonderful people I meet every day," Carl says.
Carl Budrewicz The last 100 years have seen territories increase in size and sales quotas grow exponentially. Technology has accelerated the business process with fax, email, and cell phones and yet nothing can replace the smile and handshake of a real, live human being stopping in to see how you're doing. Let's salute our hero's of the road! Employee Spotlight Cindy Diwby
One Ringy Dingy … A gracious
good morning to you ... Have I reached the party to whom I am speaking?
One of Cindy's valuable contributions has been the recommendation of her son, Joey Dichario to the TOPAZ family. He was only a middle schooler when mom joined the company 17 years ago. Joey is now the Manager of the Jacksonville warehouse. Cindy exemplifies the TOPAZ family culture in everything she does, the pride she takes in her work, and her dedication and interest in the well being of the company, customers, and employees.
Ask Mike - The Electric Expert Vice President Global Sourcing & Product Development Q: Is the NEMA certification the same as the UL certification? A: No, Compliance with NEMA standards is voluntary. NEMA neither tests products nor certifies whether a product complies with a given NEMA standard. Conformity assessment relating to NEMA standards is an issue to be resolved between the manufacturer and the customer/marketplace. A manufacturer's self-declaration may suffice or independent third-party verification may be required depending on the situation. Ask Axel - The Lighting Expert Q. Why don't self ballasted compact fluorescents dim like incandescent lamps? A. Unlike incandescent lamps, which can be dimmed with virtually any incandescent dimmer in any temperature down to almost zero light output, dimmable screw-in CFLs exhibit a very different response to dimming. Incandescent dimmers were made to dim incandescent lamps exclusively - so says the caution label on most, and the marriage has been almost flawless, with only the occasional humming, buzzing or flickering occurring with certain lamps, usually lamps with long filaments that might audibly and visibly vibrate between the filament supports.
Unfortunately, dimmable CFL's were designed to work with those very same "Incandescent Only" dimmers, and the functional limitations of this combination were immediately apparent to anyone who tried them.
Current, dimmable, self-ballasted CFL technology will never be as smooth and transparent as incandescent dimming, but by observing a few do's and don'ts, most of the problems can be eliminated.
Here are some guidelines to avoid disappointment and possible lamp failure. These apply to most (but not all) brands of lamps and dimmers. Since there are no accepted lighting industry performance or compatibility standards for this product combination, there's always a chance your specific lamps and dimmers might not work as expected. Remember, you are controlling a lamp and ballast, not just a simple filament.
First, stick with basic, analog rotary or slide dimmers. Avoid digital touch dimmers, programmable dimmers, remote control dimmers and those with multiple pre-set levels and dimmers that are part of a "scene" control system. If your dwelling already has these types of dimmers installed, you should buy only a couple of dimmable CFL's and test compatibility before replacing all your incandescents.Also, do not mix loads, e.g. do not dim incandescents and fluorescents with the same dimmer. Technically, there is never full compatibility, unless the dimmer is made for compact fluorescents, an example of which is listed near the end of this article.
Secondly, nothing fluorescent works well when it's cold. Always run dimmable CFL's at full or near full brightness for a few minutes before you dim, especially during the winter. Never try to dim immediately. The ballasts require a certain amount of current to establish the arc between the cathodes in these lamps, so "warming up" is a prudent practice. This suggestion also applies when using dimmers with separate "ON-OFF" buttons. Users will turn off the lamps at the dimmed level with the separate switch upon leaving the room. Upon re-entering the room some time later, they will expect the lamps to come on at the same low level when flipping the rocker or pushing the dimmer knob to turn on the lights. To the dismay of the user, the lamps usually won't light.
The third cause of unhappiness is the non-linear nature of self-ballasted compact fluorescent dimming. This means that turning the knob or sliding the control button a ways will not cause the lamp to dim, at first. However, even with just a little more rotation or adjustment of the control, the lamp will dim much more rapidly than anticipated, and in many instances the lamp will extinguish before the user can find the proper light level. Unlike incandescents, where each increment of control input is met with a predictable light change, CFL's require re-learning the process until the user has learned to navigate the narrow band width of adjustment. Not a huge deal, one might think, but no one likes their cheese moved, and a lot of users complain about this particular "feature". This is where human adaptability should save the day. Actual testing shows that most dimmable CFL's don't respond to dimming inputs until the dimmer output voltage is near 60 VAC. Most dimming occurs between 45 and 18 volts, when most lamps begin to flicker or go out, depending on the rated wattage of the lamp.
Lastly, while dimming of incandescent lamps (except halogens) will generally increase the life of the lamps, the same cannot be said with certainty of dimmable self-ballasted CFL's. Without IES or CIE or other comparable standard test protocols in place that dim all lamps at all wattages and all dimming levels in all imaginable orientations and environments, it is very difficult to ascertain just how long a dimmable self-ballasted CFL will last or should last, and whether more dimming is better or worse in the long run. We know, in general, less heat is better, so it is possible that dimming will extend lamp life. There have been efforts to improve the performance of dimmable retrofit CFL's, but the improvement has come from the dimmer makers, such as LEVITON, which has produced a slide dimmer specifically designed to handle up to 300 Watts of dimmable self-ballasted compact fluorescent lamps. The only restriction is that it won't dim "mixed" loads, meaning all the lamps have to be of the same type.
You may have noticed that I have made a point of saying "self-ballasted CFL's" quite a few times. It is only those lamps that I am talking about here. Standard 4-pin plug-in compact fluorescents are very dimmable with proper remote fluorescent dimming ballasts and matched fluorescent dimmers. Lamp response to dimming input is completely linear all the way to 5% in most cases. Unlike dimmable, self-ballasted CFL's, these are usually not retrofit after-thoughts, rather they are planned as part of the overall lighting scheme beforehand, and their appearance and performance reflects that planning. However, if you follow the dimming protocol I have outlined, you should be able to have your energy savings "cake" and eat it, too. If you have a question regarding Lighting Technology please send Axel an email at Axel.Hoefer@topaz-usa.com. Electric Product Spotlight IBB "Intersystem Bonding Bridge"
Lighting Product SpotlightRecyclePak Since all fluorescent lamps contain trace amounts of mercury, recycling is essential at end of life to protect our environment. RecyclePak offers an all-in-one solution to recycle lamps and ballasts. Each RecyclePak includes the recycling container, return shipping, processing and documentation. All of which are in accordance with Federal, State and local regulations. RecyclePak current Product Offering: RECYCLE - 48" BOX:
RECYCLE - 96" BOX:
RECYCLE-PAIL BALLAST:
RECYCLE-PAIL LAMPS:
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