A South London college has a lighting management system that is expected to achieve payback in two years as a result of energy savings. It uses the LDC lighting management system from Eaton MEM 250 to sense occupancy and to adjust lighting levels accordi
Shooters Hill Post 16 Campus offers a wide range of courses for 16-19 year-olds including NVQ1, NVQ2, NVQ3 and AS/A levels. It is equipped with state of the art resources for vocational courses in art and design, business studies, catering and hospitality, hairdressing and beauty therapy, information and communications technology and construction. The campus occupies part of a former school and has been modernised at a cost of around £4 million.
Electrical contractor, Robert Ebdon Limited, recommended an automatic lighting management scheme after studies which indicated that energy savings would pay for the additional cost in two years. With conventional switches, classroom lighting is frequently left on when rooms are vacated, explains Toby Buckley, REL's Director responsible for the project. Furthermore the main teaching block at Shooters Hill has a south-facing elevation so it is possible to make maximum use of natural light.
"We looked at several alternative systems, and carried out tests in our offices before selecting the LDC system" says Toby Buckley. "It allowed very quick installation - probably 25% of the time needed for a conventional system - and it offered flexibility and ease of programming" he explains.
Lighting in each area is controlled by a combined passive infra-red (PIR) presence detector and lux sensor with 1-10V dimming unit. This is connected to LDC lighting distribution centres which form marshalling centres for connections to the fluorescent luminaires via 6-pin Wieland connectors.
Typical classroom areas have 600 x 600mm single-lamp indirect fluorecent luminaires with 55W Pl compact fluorescent lamps. These were supplied by Dextra Lighting Systems, pre-wired with a 3m flying lead and Wieland plug. Each LDC has eight outlets so two units, controlled by a single sensor, are used in a typical classroom with 16 luminaires. IT rooms have Category 2 low brightness fittings but these use the same control system.
A total of 56 sensors and 91 LDC boxes is installed throughout the building. These were purchased through the Aldgate branch of CEF Ltd.
The approach meant that the wiring and LDC units could be installed at the Second Fix stage, with the luminaires installed at a later stage, explains Toby Buckley. Some areas that have interactive whiteboards have a manual override switch so that lighting can be switched off but otherwise there are no lighting switches.
Lighting levels are set to 400-500 lux in the darkest areas of the rooms. This is achieved by using a hand-held programmer and lux meter. Once the level has been set, the dimming system will operate automatically to ensure a minimum level of 400-500 lux. The 1-10V dimming signal from the sensor controls the high-frequency ballast in each fitting via the LDC box.
Presence detection is provided by a 360 degree sensor which senses anybody entering or occupying a room. An overrun feature ensures that lighting stays on for a few minutes after a room is vacated.
REL have also used Eaton MEM distribution switchgear in the Shooters Hill campus. Incoming supplies at either end of the building are controlled by Memshield 2 MCCB panelboards and final distribution is provided through Memshield 2 MCB distribution boards.
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