Using basicDIM as the backbone provides wireless connectivity for emergency luminaires via a fail-safe mesh network without additional cabling or structural changes.

New portfolio from Ledvance provides smart lighting

Despite their initial high capital cost, the speed and ease with which modular wiring systems can be installed makes them a major cost saver — and their popularity continues to grow. Clive Humphrey of Wago takes up the story.

Newey & Eyre offers a range of white-moulded and grid dimers that are suitable for dimming LED lamps and fittings. Features include overload protection, 2-way switching and adjustable minimum light level.

Computacenter, one of Europe’s leading independent providers of IT infrastructure services, has reduced its lighting energy consumption by more than half. The replacement of 700 luminaires with LED lighting in a project managed by Future Energy Solutions (FES) is expected to reduce energy use for lighting by over 400 MWh a year. Maintenance costs for the next five years will be negligible, compared with £4000 a year before the project. Lighting levels have been increased by 25%.

Lighting energy consumption at Hyndburn Leisure Centre in Accrington has been massively reduced following the installation of LED lighting from MHA Lighting. In the sports hall, the saving is 64%, representing a lifetime saving of £76 700; lighting levels have also been increased to 500 lx on the floor. In the swimming pool the energy saving is 64%, making an annual saving of £5200.

Is LED lighting the best option for a lighting system? Certainly, some schemes have been disappointing. Steven Henry of Chalmor provides practical advice about new lighting schemes — including what to consider to determine if LED technology really is the best for a particular project.

Eaton’s Chevin Plus range of fluorescent luminaires now includes T5 versions. They provide a cost-effective solution for buildings such as schools and offices that require a surface-mounted or suspended solution with excellent optical control and efficacy.

Sagab by Elma’s latest version of its Volt Stick non-contact instant voltage tester is more accurate, provides a clearer indication and is more versatile than the original. It can test for the presence of AC voltage in cables, wall sockets, fuses, circuit breakers and junction boxes. Called VoltStick Bright. It is available from UK distribution partner CIE-Group.

Tamlite Lighting’s range of LED lighting systems provides the light quality required by schools and offices while delivering savings on energy and maintenance costs. Part of the 2020 portfolio of products for the projects and specification market, there are three ranges (Solo, Horizon and Prima). All provide comfortable, glare-free light.

Timeguard has developed a fused spur for electrical installations that incorporate time control. These single-gang units provide programmable on/off times with push-button manual over-ride, There are two versions, one for 24-hour programming and one for seven days. They have a 5-year guarantee.

A new update to the UK Wiring Regulations is now in place (the third amendment), meaning that the nation’s 100 000 electrical contractors have until 1 July to get up to speed with the latest changes. Russell Coleman explains the importance of compliance.

Electrak’s Intersoc-R range of desk modules for electrical services offers significant new benefits for the installer and end user. The range also offers the same configuration flexibility as the previous Intersoc range, enabling a multitude of connection and interconnection options to be created using any combination of sockets and switching/protection modules.

Ex-Or now offers a full range of programmable PIR presence-detection systems for controlling with ceiling heights from 8 to 16 m, typically found in warehouses and industrial units. Like the long-established Hi-Bay LightSpot (which is optimised for heights from 12 to 16 m), the new Mid-Bay LightSpot also offers 360° detection of movement, but optimised for heights from 8 to 12 m. Energy cost savings of up to 70%, or more, can be made with LightSpot by turning lights off in areas that have been vacated or where there is enough natural light.

Steinel’s ceiling-mounted IR Quattro Slim PIR presence detector protrudes just 4 mm from the ceiling, giving a virtually flat profile. It has a square presence-detection range of 3 x 3 m and tangential direction of up to 5 x 5 m. When mounted on a ceiling, its visible dimensions are just 76 mm square.

Wieland Electric has supplied its Metalynx armoured structured-wiring system to enable fast connection of lighting, small power and fan-coil units at Riverbank House in the City of London. This 10-storey building is the new headquarters of global investment manager Man Group and provides 29 000 m2 of office space.

Helvar’s 905 single DALI subnet router provides a solution for areas that require standalone control of lighting or where an additional subnet needs to be added to an existing Helvar DALI system. Combined with Helvar’s Designer software, the 905 provides advanced control and functional programming.

Concord has added to its range of LED office lighting with the addition of the Officelyte LED Low Profile. It has a slim recess depth of just 95 mm and is a fully enclosed design. Typical lighting output is 90 lm/W (circuit watt) with up to 90% light output ratio. These luminaires meet the energy-performance requirements of Part L2A of the Building Regulations and the workspace lighting-quality requirements in the recently published EN 12464-2011.

Havells-Sylvania is now manufacturing its LED T8 tubes in Europe. ToLEDo tubes have an efficacy of up to 114 lm/W and come with three lighting outputs — 1200 lm (11 W), 2600 lm (26 W) and 2600 lm (32 W). They are designed for the quick and easy retrofit of existing switch-start linear fluorescent fixtures and have a life of at least 40 000 h.

Marco supplied a series of specialist cable-management products for the London 2012 Olympic games, The company’s steel-wire cable tray was used by the M&E team at the White Water Centre in Lee Valley, on the edge of the 1000 acre River Lee Country Park — part of the Lee Valley Regional Park.

When it became necessary to replace the electrical distribution equipment in the Grade 2 listed George’s Dock Ventilation & Central Station of the Mersey Road Tunnel Building, Merseytravel chose Memshield 3 smart boards and MCCB panelboards from Eaton as key elements of the new installation.

Selecting and specifying cable-management systems requires up-to-date knowledge of the capacities of systems and the requirements of a project. Manufacturers have a key role to play stresses Steve Davis of Marco Cable Management.

Seaward’s latest multi-purpose appliance tester is equipped to test portable appliances and the point-to-point testing of testing of fixed appliances as recommend by the fourth edition of the IET Code of Practice. Specifically designed for risk-based portable-appliance testing, the Apollo 600 is also equipped to carry out the earth-continuity and insulation test required for fixed appliances.

As an approach to helping building-services engineers reduce the cost of projects, Mark Redfern of Wieland Electric suggests the broader use of structured-wiring systems — and touches on safety issues.

Energy savings of over 80% are being achieved for floodlighting at a basketball club following the replacement of SON floodlights with Marl LED floodlights. The original installation of 12 SON fixtures of 350 W each at Hoops Basketball Centre in Barrow-in-Furness was replaced with eight 30 W and two 90 W floodlights.

The Gesis Micro connector system from Wieland is an ideal solution for connecting discreet LED lighting in showcases or shelves where space is at a premium, so that nothing detracts from the items on display. This connection system requires only a small drilled hole to run the lines through and features plug-and-play functionality.

Hager’s Klick.system dual-supply marshalling box has achieved savings in equipment and time for the installation of essential and non-essential lighting circuits in the new 2000 m2 outpatients’ clinic at Winchester Hospital. These marshalling boxes enable both essential and non-essential lighting circuits to be fed from the same marshalling box and also be controlled by a single digital sensor and wall switch, instead of doubling up on equipment.

Like any other lighting installation, those using LED lamps will use much less energy if they are well controlled, but there are important issues to consider — as Mike Simpson of Philips explains.