LED Tower Lights: The Most Common Questions, Answered

LED Tower Lights

Tower lights, such as LED tower lights, are special lights used in a wide range of manufacturing and industrial applications for communication and process controls.

These are some of the most common questions associated with them.

What Are Tower Lights Used for?

Tower lights are used for process control, automation, and communication in a wide variety of manufacturing and other industrial applications.

They are stacked lights, typically arranged on a column. A tower light can have one light or many different colored lights, each of which communicates unique significance (see below).

They deliver visual (and sometimes auditory) cues regarding a system, machine, or the status of a process.

They are used for:

  • Productivity monitoring, such as tracking the progress of a process and comparing uptime and downtime.
  • Communication of machine faults, or the interruption of a process.
  • To monitor maintenance stations.
  • CNC machining, to provide feedback or supervisory control of a machine.
  • Dispatch centers, in which they are used to communicate whether or not an operator is currently on the phone.
  • Road repair and construction communication.
  • Assembly station process monitoring.
  • Communicating through and across tunnels.
  • Monitoring foot traffic in and around areas in which traffic levels fluctuate heavily at different times of the day, such as at stadiums or other large public places.

What Is an Andon?

Tower lights are a type of andon, which is a term you will come across if you research them.

An andon is a system, or a component of a system, that informs supervisors of the status of a process or control.

Andons can take the form of alarms, lights, signs, or other visual displays, and are used to improve process controls, boost efficiency and productivity, and minimize downtime.

What Are the Other Names for Tower Lights?

Tower lights go by a variety of other names, including but not limited to signal lights, signal tower lights, stack lights, andon lights, warning lights, and indicator lights.

LED Tower Lights

What Do the Different Colored Tower Lights Mean?

A tower light, used as an andon, can have only one light, or it can have several. These colors communicate different things, depending on the situation.

Common colors, and associated meanings, are:

  • Red: usually associated with an emergency or a situation that requires immediate attention. It could indicate a complete process or mechanical failure, a lack of process material, or some other hazardous or dangerous situation.
  • Orange: Orange typically indicates that the risk of immediate failure or that process interruption is imminent and also requires immediate attention from a supervisor or operator. It could indicate that process materials are critically low or that machine temperatures or pressures are approaching failure threshold.
  • Yellow: Risk of immediate failure or process interruption is either imminent or will become imminent if certain conditions are not rectified. Yellow may indicate a potential machine or process error; typically requires priority intervention to rectify.
  • Green: Green usually indicates that a given machine or process is running as intended and all indications show that the process will continue without interruption in the absence of supervisory intervention.
  • Blue: Blue tower signal lights usually indicate some situationally-dependent condition set by the operator or specific to the circumstance.
  • White: White, like blue, is commonly used to communicate some situationally-dependant condition.

White and blue are both commonly used to communicate that a machine requires some routine service or maintenance, that materials must be replenished, or that a procedure has been completed.

However, it is also important to note that all of these light colors may carry their own, unique, circumstantial significance and that this information is furnished only for the purpose of serving as a general guide.

What Are the Advantages of LED Tower Lights?

The use of LED tower lights is associated with numerous advantages, including but not limited to the following:

  • Longer lifespan; LEDs can last several times as long as HID and incandescent bulbs
  • Construction from durable materials like ABS plastic and polycarbonate
  • Wider operating temperature range, instant startup in hot and cold temperatures
  • Lower power draw, greater energy efficiency
  • Greater overall reliability
  • LEDs are not made with toxic components
  • Improved safety, lower heat emission, lower fire risk
  • No UV emissions

These are just some of the reasons that LED tower signal lights offer the best value and practicality.

We carry a variety of LED tower lights here at Products for Automation, available in a wide range of colors. Some of them also feature integral alarms, adding to their utility. For more information or product specifications, please consult the previous link.

Don’t See Your Question Here? Contact Us

While these are some of the most common questions regarding tower lights, if you have another question about tower lights, or just need to know more about the specs of our LED tower lights, get in touch with us at 800-966-2345.

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