World famous university takes control of its light with state-of-the-art DALI solution

The Imperial College of London has had an ultra-modern DALI lighting control solution installed at its new campus where the next generation of biomedical engineers will carry out life-changing research.

We’re very proud to be involved in such a prestigious project The famous public research university, which was granted a Royal Charter by King Edward VII in 1907 and is ranked among the top 10 best universities in the world, had the new energy-saving lighting system by BEG Lighting Controls fitted inside the Sir Michael Uren Hub at ICL’S White City campus.

The 13-storey building is named after British businessman and philanthropist Michael Uren OBE who gifted ICL £40 million towards construction of the hub, which has been described as an ‘unprecedented investment in facilities dedicated to biomedical engineering research’. Mr Uren, who once attended ICL, is its most generous benefactor in history. He passed away at the age of 95 in 2019.

The spectacular building includes avant-garde laboratory and office facilities and, with its proximity to the Hammersmith Hospital campus, will bring 50 engineers, clinicians and scientists together to develop new medical technologies.

Nationwide UK manufacturer, BEG Lighting Controls, worked on the Sir Michael Uren Hub project alongside mechanical and engineer consultant, Buro Happold, the University Estates engineer, and M&E service provider, Michael J Lonsdale.

The college’s requirements were to have a lighting control solution put in place that its building managers could operate and maintain themselves. Using DALI dimmable luminaires, ICL also wished to take advantage of the natural daylight and reduce the building’s energy costs.

BEG Specification Director, Tom Greenrod, says: “In large office areas, we installed a DALI broadcast sensor (PD4M-DAA4G) that could be programmed to give an offset of light level for luminaires adjacent to the windows. It was calculated that the window row could provide a 30% lower output than the inner luminaires.

“To achieve this, the sensor was programmed using the BEG ONE app on a smartphone to provide two lighting groups. The inner luminaires were assigned as Group One and the window row as Group Two and set to 30% lower output to Group One. For the internal offices, a standard broadcast DALI sensor was used with all lights set to the required design lux level and programmed again via the app.

“All offices required absence detection. The default setting of presence was changed by using the app or by the dip switch on the sensor. All BEG master sensors can work in either presence or absence mode. In absence mode, the lights in the offices were manually switched on using a push to make a retractive switch. A short press provided an on/off function and a long press a dimming function.

“In the circulation areas, it was a requirement that the lights dim down to a low level rather than turning off completely when the area is unoccupied. A different DALI broadcast sensor (PD4M-Dali/DSI-C) was selected as this is a long-range sensor with detector range of up to 40m. To achieve adequate detection for the longer corridor sections, a number corridor slaves (PD4S-C) were required.

“For the restrooms, a more discrete sensor was installed which could control the DALI luminaires and the ventilation fan. For this application, another sensor (PD9M-Dali/DSI-1C) was chosen which enables DALI control of the luminaires and a switching function for the fan. The lumen output of the luminaires was governed by natural light level and movement whereas the fan was by movement only. This means if there is sufficient daylight the luminaires would switch off but the fan remains on when the restroom is occupied.”

BEG proposed a totally different lighting solution for the laboratories to comply with health and safety standards. ICL was keen for the window row of luminaires to dim according to the amount of measured natural light, so the BEG DALI-LINK system was introduced in these areas. This is a DALI addressable system programmed via Bluetooth and the DALI-LINK app.

Tom says: “Once again, the lights were put into two groups, but with one group being the lights adjacent to the windows. This group was controlled by a multi-sensor which was set into photocell mode to give constant light control. To provide a switching function, a Bluetooth four-way switching relay (PBM) was used behind a two-gang push to make a retractive switch plate. One switch controlled the lights adjacent to the windows and the other the remaining lights, which worked out perfectly.

“As with all BEG projects, we assisted and trained the contractors in setting up the sensors and gave a demonstration to ICL staff and its maintenance team on how to use the equipment and how best to make energy savings. We’re very proud to be involved in such a prestigious project with the Imperial College London whose mission is to benefit society through the wonder of science, engineering, medicine and business.”

The spectacular building includes avant-garde laboratory and office facilities

BEG Lighting Controls, beg-luxomat.com

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