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Saving
energy bills by cutting unnecessary
use of lighting was the main driver
for Prudential Assurance installing
The Ex-Or MLS Managed Lighting System
throughout its Abbey Gate centre in
Reading.
The
system’s success in delivering
savings, increasing staff comfort and
ensuring compliance with health and
safety legislation has now lead to
Prudential Assurance designating the
Ex-Or system as the preferred lighting
management system for Prudential-occupied
buildings in the UK.
More
than 500 people work in Prudential’s
open plan Abbey Gate call centre, occupying
groups of workstations. Before the Ex-Or
system was installed, every light in
the building was switched on at 6.30
am and not switched off until 11.30
pm every day, regardless of how many
people occupied the office during the
17 hour period.
“Lights
were left blazing when they were not
needed - it was obvious there would
be great financial and environmental
gains to be made if the lights only
came on when they were required,”
said Tim Winter, engineering contract
manager for Prudential corporate property.
Following
research into the lighting systems available,
Prudential installed The Ex-Or MLS Managed
Lighting System to control the 500 luminaires
throughout the building.
Under
MLS, communicating presence detectors
swap information about occupancy and
levels of natural light and automatically
deliver optimum lighting conditions
to occupants in their individual work
zones. MLS also holds lights on automatically
in key circulation areas throughout
the building.
Groups
of luminaires were then easily programmed
to suit the working needs of staff.
This was achieved by simply using a
hand-held remote programmer. As work
patterns change in the future, so Prudential
FM staff 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.
Said
Tim Winter: “Cutting our lighting
bills and saving energy were the main
reasons for choosing Ex-Or MLS. We estimate
we are making savings of around 40 per
cent in our lighting electricity bills
thanks to Ex-Or MLS.
“But
it soon became clear that the system
delivers some other major benefits.
Before the installation, the general
levels of light were too high, especially
considering most occupants were working
on PC screens. Now, levels of light
have been brought down automatically
by MLS to much more acceptable levels,
making it much more comfortable for
staff.
“In
addition, Ex-Or MLS means our lighting
now complies with the latest requirements
of the Display Screen Equipment Regulations.”
He
said the new lighting system had been
well received by staff and had proved
completely reliable in use. “We
have nine people staffing our facilities
management help desk receiving calls
from Prudential buildings all over the
country - not one call has been received
about the Ex-Or lighting system at Abbey
Gate, and that says it all.
“As
a result of this successful installation,
we have now designated Ex-Or as our
preferred supplier of lighting management
systems for Prudential-occupied buildings
in our estate.”
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