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Lighting Controls For Education
Considerations for lighting in education projects:
Maximising daylight is the most important thing to bear in mind when planning lighting for a classroom, lecture theatre or other teaching space. It’s been proven that natural daylight enhances concentration and promotes well being. Of course reducing carbon emissions has never been more important than it is today, so finding a way to reduce energy usage wherever possible is imperative.
Installing daylight linking lighting controls is an easy win on both counts. They can be used to ensure that wherever possible natural light is taken advantage of, and artificial lights remain on only when necessary. If daylight linking controls are used luminaires will dim down or turn off whenever there is sufficient natural light available.
According to the Carbon Trust, lighting accounts for 20-25% of the total energy used in schools. Significant cost savings can be made by switching to energy efficient lighting equipment. Occupancy sensors alone can reduce lighting costs by as much as 30%.
Public buildings with many occupants are much more likely to suffer with lights being left on in unoccupied rooms for long periods of time. Occupancy sensors can be used to ensure that lights are only kept on in areas while they’re in use. Once installed, occupancy sensors will automatically turn off lights when a room or area has been vacated, rather than having to rely on individual users to remember to turn them off as they leave.
Schools, colleges and universities are great examples of multi-use buildings. Not only might multiple users use a single classroom over the course of a day, spaces are also used out of hours by clubs, and the local community. This means lighting needs to be flexible, and easy to use.
Why Choose flex7?
The flex7™ System can offer numerous energy efficient and functional lighting solutions for your school or educational building.
Whether you require daylight linking, corridor hold or separate whiteboard switching our experience in the sector means we can provide you with a lighting scheme perfectly suited to your needs. We can help you select the right products for your project, and once they’ve been delivered it’s a simple case of plugging everything together to complete your installation. It really couldn’t be simpler.
Give us a call on: 0208 580 1066
Key features of the flex7 System
Protected Extra Low Voltage
All of our lighting controls operate at PELV, which means that switch drop cables can be set at any depth in the wall, and won’t require extra protection. This makes them a cost effective way of complying with IET 18th edition wiring regulations.
Easy maintenance
The system is modular, and products simply plug-together on site, meaning they can easily be replaced or upgraded without disrupting everyday use of the building. Our lighting controls are also available with integrated emergency test.
Integrated Emergency Test Facility
Our lighting controls are available with integrated emergency test. They can easily be networked together, and there is no need for separate switches for each circuit or phase. A single key switch can test emergency luminaires across multiple circuits or phases. Our lighting controls operate at protected extra low voltage, so the voltage at the test switch will operate at below 50V. This avoids scenarios where multiple key switches are grouped in a centralised, multi-gang enclosure with the potential for 415V to be present, which requires extra labelling as per regulation 514.10.1 of BS 7671
Corridors And Circulation areas
Corridor Hold
Corridor Hold Units from flex7™ will hold lights on in a corridor or circulation area if any of the rooms linked to it are occupied. This is often a requirement for health and safety, or security reasons.
2-Stage Dimming Control
Luminaires in corridors can be programmed to dim down to 50% when a corridor has been empty for a set period of time. After a further period of time, if sensors still haven’t been triggered lights will turn off completely.
Timeclock
The Timeclock unit is designed to hold lights controlled by sensors on for pre-set time periods during the day. A typical installation would involve holding certain lights on in a building – often those in corridors and circulation area, during normal working hours, and allowing them to revert back to occupancy control at all other times.
Classrooms
Absence Sensing
Ideal for use in classrooms, lights need to be turned on manually at switch on the wall but will turn off again automatically once the room is vacant. This option offers greater potential for energy saving than occupancy control, as lights will only be turned on when needed.
Daylight Linking Sensors
Usually incorporating absence or occupancy detection, daylight linking sensors save energy by switching lights off/dimming lights down in a room if there is adequate natural light. The controls are programmed to maintain a constant light level, so that lights will turn on again as it gets dark outside. The ZoneLite Type T has graduated daylight dimming options available, which mean that lights further away from the windows will have a brighter offset.
Independent switching of whiteboard or projector lights
Certain configurations on our ZoneLite Type T allow independent switching of the whiteboard or projector lights. This allows lights closest to the whiteboard to be switched off or dimmed down to ensure that content can be seen clearly.
ZoneLite Type T
The flex7 ZoneLite Type T is a lighting distribution box with integrated lighting control. It is preprogrammed with up to 15 distinct lighting configurations common to teaching and educational environments. With 4 lighting channels it offers a solution for all key lighting control strategies in a typical school. It provides options for absence/presence/daylight linking/graduated daylight dimming. Independent switching of whiteboard or projector lights, emergency test, corridor hold, last man out switch and scene setting.
Examples of the types of configuration programmed into a ZoneLite Type T:
WCs, Cleaning cupboards etc.
Occupancy Sensing:
Occupancy sensors are ideal for use in areas such as WCs, stairwells and storage areas that are frequently unoccupied. Lights turn on automatically when someone enters a room, and turn off again once the room has been empty for a set period of time.
Staffrooms and Offices
Absence Sensing:
Ideal for use in classrooms, lights need to be turned on manually at switch on the wall, but will turn off again automatically once the room is vacant. This option offers greater potential for energy saving than occupancy sensing, as lights will only be turned on when needed.
Daylight Linking Sensors
Usually incorporating absence or occupancy detection, daylight linking sensors save energy by switching lights off/dimming lights down in a room if there is adequate natural light. The controls are programmed to maintain a constant light level, so that lights will turn on again as it gets dark outside. The ZoneLite Type T has graduated daylight dimming options available, which mean that lights further away from the windows will have a brighter offset.
Lighting Controls For Education – flex7 Projects
Chapel Hill Primary School, Basildon
flex7 were able to provide a solution that avoided having to use a fully addressable DALI system, which would have involved time consuming & expensive design and commissioning.
Daneshill School
Presence detection was required in corridor and WC areas while office areas were all fitted with DALI absence detection. Using flex7 Starter Distribution Boxes and prewired luminaire leads meant that the installation could be completed quickly and efficiently
Walker Primary School
The 2-storey block replaced an old and unsuitable building. The new school buildings offers spacious classrooms, an IT Suite, Studio. The building achieved a BREEAM rating of ‘Very Good’.
Aberdeen University Science Teaching Hub
flex7 ZoneLite lighting control modules and Scene Setting Plates were chosen for the project because it was decided that they were the best value option in terms of price and quality.