Helvar Ltd

Helvar, an independent Finnish company with UK offices in Dartford, a company with nearly a century of business experience, has been an industry leader in lighting technology since the 1970s. We specialise in reliable, versatile and quality lighting control systems and energy-efficient lighting components for use by luminaire manufacturers and electrical contractors and specifiers, as well as the electrical and lighting design industries.

Helvar’s solutions can offer up to 80% energy savings in your lighting needs – a major efficiency since lighting is one of the greatest drains on energy. Our systems can be found in offices, hotels and retail, mission critical healthcare facilities, major entertainment venues, cruise ships, and industrial plants. And Helvar customers are some of the biggest names in global enterprise.

Our portfolio of luminaire components includes magnetic and electronic ballasts for high intensity and fluorescent discharge lamps; LED (light-emitting diode) drivers, and sensor systems complemented by a range of lighting control products and systems.

Our Karkkila factory, in Finland, is one of the largest lighting manufacturing facilities in Europe and a world leader for efficiency in automation and energy use. Helvar is committed to quality products that are energy-efficient and ecologically sound throughout the life-cycle. Environmental considerations are embedded in our product development, from the design phase to fabrication.

We pride ourselves on long-term cooperative engagements with our customers and expert customer service. Our product conform to international energy-efficiency and other sustainability standards. And Helvar has a rigorous corporate social responsibility ethos. Lighting is our business – and we pursue our passion in an enlightened way.

Ballasts for T5 Lamps

T5 lamps, an industry standard for fluorescent tube lighting, are an efficient way of lighting your premises. But a T5 tube needs a quality ballast to control the energy levels passing through the fluorescent lighting system and regulate the illumination. We offer an electronic ballast system for T5 lamps that modulate the electrical current at higher efficiency levels than less advanced solutions. The electronic system also eliminates hums, flickers or strobing. We sell four different ballasts for T5 tubes suitable for different usage needs, with options for standard or side-mounted lighting, low power loss, frequent switching abilities, wide dimming ranges (1% to 100%), and multi-lamp operation.

Ballasts for T8 Lamps

Helvar offers high quality and efficient solutions for T8 lamps with high performance magnetic ballasts or standard electronic ballasts available. We offer 1-10V electronic ballasts with the option to control the electric current. Our T8 ballasts range from non-dimmable units, ballasts with extremely low standby energy consumption, controllable ballasts with flicker-free lighting, units suitable for multiple lamp units, and units with variable energy currents and wide dimming ranges of 1% to 100%. We also offer ballasts designed for sue with motion sensors. Our magnetic ballast meets industry requirements, performs at low harmonics and with low power losses, in a small size and with a long life cycle, with a properly trimmed lamp current for the duration of service.

Ballasts for Compact Lamps

Compact fluorescent lamps are designed to replace incandescent bulbs, with screw or bayonet fittings compatible with industry standard bulb mountings, but at a fraction of the energy use. We sell ballasts for compact lamps that can be used in offices, factories and other manufacturing facilities, retail premises, hotels and exhibition venues. All our compact lamp ballasts are either magnetic or electronic, with a wide range of control available in the electronic range, and feature our trademark energy efficiency. Our products come with – depending on need – wide dimming ranges of 1% to 100%, side or standard mounting options, energy-output controls, low standby energy consumption, and other industry-leading features.

Ballasts for HID-Lamps

High-intensity discharge (HID) lamps are used for outdoor or large indoor lighting. HID lamps have the benefit of producing high levels of illumination at energy-efficient levels of power use. We offer a full range of ballasts for HID-lamps, suitable for a variety of mechanical dimensions, and designed for lamps ranging from 35W to 100W and up to 250W to 1,000W. Some units use unique systems for protecting against transients on the mains electricity. We also offer units in small and light enclosures; units with long lifetimes, low harmonics, and low power usage; fully adjustable cable tightening; ignitors for HID lamps; and ballasts for high pressure sodium or mercury lamps.

LED Drivers

Light-emitting diode lamps are ideal for indicator lights, downlights, track lights and linear lights, in schools, offices, retail settings and hospitals. Our LED drivers are designed for long life-cycles after a quick installation. We offer dimmable drivers; constant current drivers with overload and short-circuit protection; adjustable current output options; reliable lifetime cycles of 50,000 hours; high energy-efficiency; and drivers that are suitable for a wide array of environments and applications. We also sell a USB to DMX programmable dongle that allows modification of energy output and other driver variables. And we offer a software tool, LEDesign, for calculating the appropriate Helvar LED driver for your use.

Sensors

A key way to save energy is to turn off the lights. Our sensor range allows for adaptability in turning off the correct lights as quickly as possible. Helvar sensors can be used in luminaire mounting or in standalone use with our electronic ballasts or automatic lighting controls. Our range includes ceiling-mounted units with constant light detectors and presence detectors; rotating sensors; easy installation compact units; and sensors with microwave detectors that provide automatic detection of lighting loads. We also offer an infrared handset for programming our µDim sensor line. Time delay, lux level and microwave detection sensitivity can all be adjusted.

iDim

iDim – do you? Our iDim range of ballasts, drivers and sensors offers the industry’s easiest tool for achieving energy savings and appropriate lighting solutions in most applications with a minimum of user effort. iDim is easy to install, use and integrate with your lighting products. Intelligent and reliable, iDim saves you energy; its unique ease of use are a future-proof solution that is powerful, flexible and cost-effective. We are proud to offer this compact control solution for luminaires in single-room applications – and it can be leveraged by every luminaire manufacturer. And our iDim Studio Software and remote control allow you to customise your iDim Sense sensor and adjust settings with ease.

Routers

Our DIGIDIM routers help you build a scaleable and flexible lighting control system suitable for commercial, architecture and Architainment (TM) lighting systems. Routers simplify the jobs of lighting designers, systems integrators, and installation technicians. Our router range can provide local or remote control and support up to 64 devices powered by the industry-standard Digital Addressable Lighting Interface (DALI), including over Ethernet and DALI emergency devices. One of our units offers a universal mains supply for global use; another has an astronomic time clock. Helvar routers are the right start for a network-based system to control automated lighting.

Dimmers

Dimming lights for energy-efficiency or special atmospherics are a standard feature of all modern and flexible lighting systems. Helvar’s range of DIGIDIM and Imagine dimmers can dim most standard lighting load types, including tungsten lighting; mains voltage tungsten halogen; and transformer-fed low voltage tungsten halogen lamps. Our range includes dimmers for both trailing and leading dimmers, on single or multiple channels, and can cover load capacities from 500W to 4kW. Our units come with status LEDs; special settings for network usage; stabilised output; and other features. We also offer a dimmer that requires no programming when used with appropriate DIGIDIM accessories.

Ballast Controllers

Analogue ballast controllers and other non-DALI controllable electronic ballasts can be adapted to work with, and be integrated with, Helvar’s range of DIGIDIM, DALI and Imagine systems, including multi-channel controllers. Our units come with, if needed, LED displays and navigation keys. And our entire line of ballast controllers offer options for use with dimmers, while also offering units that can switch up to fifty ballasts, in a wide range of application scenarios and with different lighting technologies.

Relay Units

Relay units are used to increase energy-efficiency and fine-tune lighting or other electronic products control. Helvar’s relay units can be used in controlling non-dimmable luminaires, or alternatively our units can be used with blinds and curtains (including a setting for the “travel time” of blinds on their rails) and other non-lighting devices. Our entire range of relay units has been developed to meet an extensive variety of applications and customer needs. Our relays can be integrated either with Helvar systems or third-party products.

Enclosures

Helvar’s Imagine rack system, and our 458-Series architectural lighting control rack system, offer extensible, scaleable and modular platforms to meet the demanding and technically advanced requirements of lighting specifiers and installers. We offer five different enclosure products to house lighting control modules. Vertical wall-mounting and easy installation feature in the DIGIDIM enclosure products. Our higher-end Imagine racks can hold seven or thirteen rack-mounted modules, using a 45-degree angle stacker unit for convenient and comfortable work postures, with pre-wired internal connections and screwless terminals, and the possibility of forced cooling.

User Interfaces

Helvar does more than the nitty-gritty of ballasts and relays. We also offer stylish and functional user interfaces to control, with ease and convenience, our powerful and customisable lighting solutions. Our interfaces range from handheld remote controls, to push-button and slider panels, to LCD touchscreen displays with 3.5” screens in 65,000 colours. We also offer an easy-to-use web-based visualisation tool for monitoring Helvar’s extensive lighting controls – without the need for any programming experience. These systems allow you to control not only the efficiency but the fine-tuned atmospheric finesse of your lighting solutions and scenes. Schedules, dimming, logging, and many other options are included in our user interfaces.

System Sensors

Helvar offers a range of sensors for luminaire and ceiling-mounted lighting as part of our lighting control solutions. Sensors allow for energy-saving features and automatic lighting by determining usage based on motion, presence or absence, and other factors; these systems reduce lighting and energy use. We offer ceiling units, fully compatible with our light control systems, with 7m-diameter coverages areas. Our multisensor works on presence detection, constant light detection, or infrared inputs. We also offer microwave sensors for detecting movement; one of these units has a tilting head for optimal placement and targeting. And we offer an external light sensor; mounting brackets for sensor units; and a system for a user-customised occupancy metric.

Input Devices

Our lighting control system includes customer-specified switches, sensors, timeclocks, and other control devices, to be included in the lighting solution via our input units. Our input units are compatible with Digital Addressable Lighting Interface (DALI) systems and can be extensively customised with our Toolbox software. We offer a variety of input units that can be installed within larger lighting products, including a low-profile option that comes with a ribbon cable, and also a very compact switch interface unit that can convert third-party switches or button panels for use with a Helvar lighting control system.

Toolbox for DIGIDIM Standalone

The Helvar DIGIDIM standalone system is usually suitable for small or mid-size lighting applications that operate on a single DALI subnet. Helvar's Toolbox software can be used to programme these standalone lighting control systems. Our Toolbox range includes computer software for Microsoft Windows computers to design, programme and maintain a DIGIDIM lighting system, complete with online and offline programming, offline simulation, and a system backup and restore feature. We also offer a serial-interface programming point module, serial-interface cables, a USB-to-DALI interface, and ceiling-mounted or rail-mounted power supplies.

Manuals & Brochures

APPLICATION NOTE

APPLICATION NOTE

BROCHURE

BROCHURE

BROCHURE

connecting controls whitepaper

PRODUCT BULLETIN

PRODUCT BULLETIN