April 2022

BATTERY PACKS VS. SMALL INVERTERS VS. BIG INVERTERS - HOW TO CHOOSE

TOPIC

Background

Considerations

- What We're Trying to Solve

The Results

Chalk Talk

Overview

- The Hardware

- Accessories Required

- This Is Complicated...

- The Rules of Engagement

- Our Example's Total Cost of Ownership

- The Example We're Using

- Installation Labor and Consumables

- The Maintenance

What We're Trying to Solve

- Building a framework to evaluate the cost associated with emergency lighting systems

ISOLITE

BATTERY PACKS VS. SMALL INVERTERS VS. BIG INVERTERS - HOW TO CHOOSE

Chalk Talk

I. BACKGROUND

- Focused on Emergency LED Drivers, Small Inverters and Large Inverters

- Not focused on traditional unitary emergency lights or generators

- Mostly ignoring the functional differences and preferences (like aesthetics) for this analysis

- Some of these do have cost implications, which will be touched on

The Rules of Engagement

- Trying to make this as apples to apples (to apples) as possible

- 100 Fixtures, 30 Watts Each

- Comparison Points Will Be:

ISOLITE

BATTERY PACKS VS. SMALL INVERTERS VS. BIG INVERTERS - HOW TO CHOOSE

Chalk Talk

I. BACKGROUND

- We're using something that approximates a "MSRP/list"    cost for products since Chalk Talks are public. The              numbers are the same relative to each other.

- Keep in mind, options can change the cost structure as      can installation oddities

- 100x 25W Emergency LED Drivers

- 6x 500W E3 Inverters

- 1x 3,000W E3MAC Inverter

The Example We're Using

Basic Commercial Construction

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BATTERY PACKS VS. SMALL INVERTERS VS. BIG INVERTERS - HOW TO CHOOSE

Chalk Talk

I. BACKGROUND

- 100 Fixtures, 30W Each

- 25 zones contain emergency lighting

- All zones are controlled by some sort of lighting control

- Small inverters are distributed

- Big inverter is centrally located

- Emergency LED drivers are factory installed

- Electrical Labor is $50/hr

The Hardware

"Basically" because we know we need additional hardware for the inverters...

What We Need, Basically

II. CONSIDERATIONS

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BATTERY PACKS VS. SMALL INVERTERS VS. BIG INVERTERS - HOW TO CHOOSE

Chalk Talk

This doesn't account for any of the installation labor/materials

Totals

Inverter Cost Advantage Point

25W LED Driver

500W Inverter

3000W Inverter

Count

Cost Each

Cost Total

100

6

1

$200

$2,400

$13,000

$20,000

$14,400

$13,000

Device

LED Drivers: $20,000

500W Inverters: $14,400

3000W Inverter: $13,000

The Accessories

- Every ZONE of inverter-backed lighting will have to have 1      ALRC (ELCD/ELCD-F/ELCD-FD)

II. CONSIDERATIONS

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BATTERY PACKS VS. SMALL INVERTERS VS. BIG INVERTERS - HOW TO CHOOSE

Chalk Talk

Totals

LED Drivers: $20,000

500W Inverters: $16,900

3000W Inverter: $15,500

- We'll call this $100/zone for this example

- Inverter costs each go up by: $100 x 25 Zones = $2,500

Installation

The LED Drivers

II. CONSIDERATIONS

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BATTERY PACKS VS. SMALL INVERTERS VS. BIG INVERTERS - HOW TO CHOOSE

Chalk Talk

- LED Emergency Drivers can be factory or field-installed (in most jurisdictions)

- Field installation is costly/complicated due to the number of wires that have to be terminated

- Factory installation costs are all over the place, but we'll estimate it at a $25 adder per fixture

- LED Emergency Drivers factory installed in Fixtures = $22,500

Totals

LED Drivers: $22,500

500W Inverters: $16,900

3000W Inverter: $15,500

Installation

Labor Rates

II. CONSIDERATIONS

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BATTERY PACKS VS. SMALL INVERTERS VS. BIG INVERTERS - HOW TO CHOOSE

Chalk Talk

- Inverters do require more from an installation standpoint due to their size.

- For the large inverter we'll budget 4 hours, 1/2 a day, of labor, $200

- For small inverters we'll budget 2 hours each, 6 * 2 * 50 = $600

Totals

LED Drivers: $22,500

500W Inverters: $17,500

3000W Inverter: $15,700

Installation

II. CONSIDERATIONS

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BATTERY PACKS VS. SMALL INVERTERS VS. BIG INVERTERS - HOW TO CHOOSE

Chalk Talk

Normal

Emergency Driver

Inverter

1

2

4

5

3

1

Installation

- The wire lengths required are different for each of the scenarios

Materials

II. CONSIDERATIONS

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BATTERY PACKS VS. SMALL INVERTERS VS. BIG INVERTERS - HOW TO CHOOSE

Chalk Talk

- We'll normalize for the emergency driver and only count additional wiring needed for the             inverter systems

- Wire is budgeted at $0.50/ft which includes installation labor to pull it

- We'll estimate that the average zone on the smaller inverters requires an extra 100ft of wire      (25 * 100 * $0.50 = $1250)

- We'll estimate that the average zone on the large inverters requires an extra 200ft of wire    (25 * 200 * $0.50 = $2500)

Totals

LED Drivers: $22,500

500W Inverters: $18,750

3000W Inverter: $18,200

Freight

II. CONSIDERATIONS

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BATTERY PACKS VS. SMALL INVERTERS VS. BIG INVERTERS - HOW TO CHOOSE

Chalk Talk

Totals

LED Drivers: $22,500

500W Inverters: $19,150

3000W Inverter: $18,650

- We'll normalize around the pre-installed LED drivers since the fixtures have to ship anyway

- Shipping is going to vary by location but we'll estimate high

- The 500W inverters would most likely ship UPS ground, totaling roughly $300

- The 3000W inverter would ship via freight, roughly $450

Purchase Price is One Thing...

Our example has led us to the total cost of installation of:

What it costs to get these installed

II. CONSIDERATIONS

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BATTERY PACKS VS. SMALL INVERTERS VS. BIG INVERTERS - HOW TO CHOOSE

Chalk Talk

Totals

LED Drivers: $22,500

500W Inverters: $19,150

3000W Inverter: $18,650

Solution

Total Installed Cost

$22,500

$19,150

$18,650

(100) Emergency Driver

(6) 500W Inverter

(1) 3000W Inverter

The Maintenance...

- Emergency Drivers will have to be inspected/documented monthly (est. 4 minutes each)

  4 min * 100 drivers * 12 mo/yr * $50/hr * 1/60 = $4,000/yr

II. CONSIDERATIONS

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BATTERY PACKS VS. SMALL INVERTERS VS. BIG INVERTERS - HOW TO CHOOSE

Chalk Talk

- 500W Inverters have to be inspected once yearly (est. 15 minutes each)

  15 min * 6 inverters * $50/hr * 1/60 = $75/yr

- 3000W Inverters have to be inspected once yearly (est. 30 minutes total)

  30 min * 1 inverter * $50/hr * 1/60 = $25/yr

- NFPA 101 mandates monthly testing (self-diagnostics still requires documentation)

​- NFPA 111 mandates yearly inverter maintenance

Total Cost of Ownership

This doesn't include battery replacement

III. THE RESULTS

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BATTERY PACKS VS. SMALL INVERTERS VS. BIG INVERTERS - HOW TO CHOOSE

Chalk Talk

- LED Drivers est. 5-year replacement horizon

- Inverters est. 10-year replacement horizon

Installed Cost

5-Year Cost

10-Year Cost

$22,500

$19,150

$18,650

$42,500

$19,525

$18,775

$62,500

$19,900

$18,900

Solution

(100) Emergency Driver

(6) 500W Inverter

(1) 3000W Inverter

The Average Is Never Truly Achieved

- The total cost of ownership is always going to sway you towards larger inverters

- Labor costs and installation "proximity" are going to impact the installed cost numbers

Our Example

III. THE RESULTS

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BATTERY PACKS VS. SMALL INVERTERS VS. BIG INVERTERS - HOW TO CHOOSE

Chalk Talk

- Almost every detailed analysis we've done still has inverters resulting in a lower installed cost

- The ability to do exit signs off the inverter makes this a lot more cost effective, too

- We'd love to assist you in this analysis for your jobs, just reach out...

Sales Materials

- Training Video Link (Public - For Agent Only)

- Sales Presentation PDF (Public - For Agent Sales Presentations)

Available within Follow-up Sales Packet

III. TOPIC

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BATTERY PACKS VS. SMALL INVERTERS VS. BIG INVERTERS - HOW TO CHOOSE

Chalk Talk

Need Further Assistance?

Team of Experts

Schedule a Webinar for Advanced Sales & Engineering Training

III. TOPIC

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BATTERY PACKS VS. SMALL INVERTERS VS. BIG INVERTERS - HOW TO CHOOSE

Chalk Talk

THANK YOU