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Environmental
concerns, the need to make savings in
electricity costs and the desire to
deliver staff comfort - these were the
main drivers that led to the installation
of The Ex-Or MLS throughout one of Northern
Ireland’s most prestigious new
office buildings.
The
four-storey Phoenix Natural Gas headquarters
and operations building occupies a 2.2
acre site in Belfast. More than 500
luminaires are controlled automatically
by The Ex-Or MLS Managed Lighting System.
Communicating presence detectors swap
information about occupancy and levels
of natural light, automatically delivering
optimum lighting conditions.
Almost
250 people, comprising engineers, sales,
and administrative staff, work in the
building which is mainly open plan with
some cellular offices and meeting rooms.
Said
Phoenix facilities manager Chris Losty:
“By its very nature our company
is most energy conscious and aware of
its environmental obligations and it
was necessary to extend these principles
into the design and operation of the
new building.
“In
addition we wanted a system which would
ensure the lights dimmed or switched
off when there were sufficient levels
of natural light.”
He
said that The Ex-Or MLS delivers considerably
more benefits than stand-alone lighting
control options and time-of-day lighting
management systems. MLS detectors communicate
with each other to provide the correct
level of lighting to occupants in work
zones and hold lights on automatically
in key circulation areas.
During
the installation, discrete, flush-mounted
detectors were located in the ceilings
within the Phoenix building, each of
which regulate six linear fluorescent
luminaires and four downlighters via
a two-core cable which sends a control
signal to the digital regulating ballasts.
There are a total of 55 detectors on
each floor. Communication between the
detectors is via a signal bus conveniently
routed with the mains wiring.
Groups
of luminaires were then easily programmed
using the hand-held remote MLS infrared
programmer. Both fluorescent luminaires
and energy saving lamps are controlled
by The Ex-Or MLS. As work patterns change
in the future, so Chris Losty can simply
alter the behaviour of groups of luminaires
by using the programmer. Individual
users can temporarily alter the lighting
levels of their own lights if they wish,
by using their own remote hand-held
controllers.
The
end result has been the successful delivery
of three key objectives for Phoenix
Natural Gas.
•
Phoenix’s main aim was to extend
its environmental concerns into the
fabric of it headquarters building using
automatic lighting control. Luminaires
burning when they are not needed, or
at a much higher light level than required,
is not environmentally friendly.
•
Luminaires which automatically dim down
or switch off when not needed ensure
that significant cost savings are made
on the building’s electricity
bill.
•
The automatic delivery of correct lighting
levels at all times creates the most
comfortable working environment for
its staff and ensures Phoenix is meeting
all current and anticipated future health
and safety legislation covering lighting
levels and VDU use.
Said
Chris Losty: “In the months following
the opening of our building the staff
have been totally happy with their lit
environment. We are satisfied that The
Ex-Or MLS is delivering significant
electricity cost savings and the system
has proved reliable in use.”
Harvey
Group plc, mechanical and electrical
contractors in Northern Ireland, said
they wanted to obtain The Ex-Or MLS
from Malone Lighting, Ex-Or’s
Irish agents, following a demonstration
of its capabilities. Harvey Group then
worked closely with Ex-Or at the design
development stage to provide a value
for money and flexible system that met
the needs of Phoenix Natural Gas and
came within their budget.
Said
Harvey Group managing director Brian
Harvey: “We carried out the complete
mechanical and electrical installations
and we continue to provide the planned
maintenance to Phoenix Natural Gas.
We found the Ex-Or system simple to
install and it has proved to be reliable
and simple to operate. The Ex-Or lighting
was one of a number of elements in the
project described by the principal contractor
Bovis as ‘very innovative and
well received’.”
The
fluorescent luminaires and energy-saving
light fittings were specified by M &
E Whitby Bird and Partners, London.
Architect was Cartwright Pickard.
The
Ex-Or MLS is available in two versions,
analogue and digital. New MLS Digital
offers enhanced ballast compatibility
- both DALI and DSI ballasts can be
controlled. Digital technology means
that more flexibility can be built into
the system. For example, specially designed
lit environments can be created automatically
when areas are first occupied and later
vacated.
In
addition, various features from Ex-Or’s
other lighting management and control
systems can be seamlessly incorporated
into MLS Digital to offer greater flexibility.
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