Rising UK university invests in LED technology for top medical research centre

19-08-2015

As with most universities, improvements to campus facilities are crucial to remaining competitive amongst other institutions. Although development projects are necessary for the success of any university, such investments need to be rigorously managed and carefully budgeted, in order to maintain a balance between achieving economic sustainability and raising the institution’s profile by offering high-quality facilities to students and staff. LED products and intelligent lighting controls can contribute greatly towards reaching this goal, by guaranteeing substantial paybacks within surprisingly short periods of time in the form of energy savings.

The University of Surrey has recently risen to an impressive 4th place in the Guardian University League Table.

This outstanding achievement is in part the result of an ongoing building development and improvement programme backed by a £230 million investment since 2007.

Many aspects of the university’s campus have been transformed as a result of this extensive project. Amongst these is the Duke of Kent building, home of the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, designed by renowned British architect, Nicholas Grimshaw.

Dextra Lighting’s reputation and credentials preceded itself. Its extensive portfolio and growing success in the educational sector is owed to the company’s vast range of cost-effective state-of-the-art products, tried and tested for office and educational environments, combined with unrivalled flexibility and delivery times for bespoke orders. In consideration of these factors, Dextra Lighting were chosen amongst competitors to completely redesign a customised lighting scheme for the building’s top floor administrative offices, to be supplied following a fixed, allocated budget.

Surrey based electrical contractors Eurodata Building Services, carried out the installation as part of their partnership in installing energy saving solutions for the University.

The brief consisted firstly to replace the existing, inefficient fluorescent uplighters which were providing inadequate lux levels for staff to work in, and secondly, to boost energy efficiency by installing programmable lighting controls. Finally, the office was to be divided into designated working areas, each requiring their own independent controls and sensors.

Before and after of the Library.

The project faced both design and installation challenges due to the spatial layout and architecture of the location. To begin with, the curved ceiling, dissected by several protruding wooden beams of different sizes, required the lighting to be somehow suspended in order to evenly distribute the lighting across each office cluster.

The ceiling also featured a large sunroof-type aperture, which provided a significant amount of daylight that could potentially be harvested into energy savings. Due to the layout of offices, most of this daylight reached the lower floor and the main staircase, whilst the upper, mezzanine level was lit by rows of windows. The aim here was to make the most of the available daylight from all these sources, thereby minimising energy costs and reducing the building’s carbon emissions in compliance with government legislation.

Soon after the initial on-site assessment, Dextra’s in-house design department used the latest digital 3D modelling equipment to generate a complete plan of the project area, proposing a solution in the form of a customised 5000 lumen MODLED Suspended dimmable luminaire in C84 white. Its unique design allowed a series of 1200mm x 300mm luminaires to be suspended in continuous run configurations, using a set of matching corner pieces and blind units.

Luminaires from the MODLED suspended range are engineered with energy efficiency and premium performance in mind, with high-transmission diffuser panels offering 93% transmission and LOR’s in excess of 85%. As with all of Dextra’s LED products, this bespoke luminaire benefits from all the advantages for long life and low maintenance offered by the highest quality Philips/Tridonic LEDs and drivers, and operates at a fraction of the energy costs of its fluorescent counterparts

To add to these advantages, the customised MODLED Suspended’s minimalist design offers an elegant contemporary look suitable for one of the nation’s leading medical faculties.

Thanks to the flexibility offered by this innovative bespoke system, Dextra’s in-house design team were able to devise an installation involving a series of evenly spaced, overhanging rectangular lighting “cells”, hovering above each work zone. Positioned directly 3m above the desired areas, the selected 5000lm output luminaires were able to produce a more uniform and focused light coverage, with light levels averaging at the optimal 400lux for office environments. Fitted with DSI dimming controls, the luminaires can now be dimmed to maximise visual comfort and minimise glare for applications where computer monitors are in use.

Combined with integral R24d sensors offering daylight regulation and presence detection, the DSI dimming controls also fulfilled the important role of harvesting daylight and minimising power consumption when work areas were left vacated. Dextra’s own engineers commissioned these controls to make the most of the light entering from office’s sunroof and windows. By dividing the lighting scheme into 10 separate cells to match the new office layout, each individual work area was managed far more efficiently, with localised sensors responding more closely to the pattern of staff’s movements and the distribution of natural light throughout the day.

Overall, this intelligent and eco-friendly lighting solution has received extremely positive feedback. Surrey’s investment in Dextra has not only allowed the building to operate more sustainably by lowering energy usage, but has also transformed the office into a modern, stylish and stimulating working environment for the hardworking staff of a top UK university.