Lighting controls slash energy use in Southampton multi-storey car park
Lighting energy costs for a 6-storey car park in Southampton have been reduced by 35% following the installation of a lighting -control system from Ex-Or. The car park is run by Southampton City Council and provides space for 510 vehicles.
Ex-Or’s long-range LightSpot and SceneSelect II systems were installed to eliminate the unnecessary use of lighting. At the same time, the outdated metal-halide lights were replaced throughout by high-efficiency fluorescents. The previous lighting installation was over 20 years old.
Previously, lights were on 24 hours a day, every day. In a typical month, the electricity consumption was nearly 40 MWh, costing £2600. In the full month following the installation and commissioning of the new lighting system, electricity consumption was reduced to 22 MWh, costing £1200.
In the first year of operation, the council expects to make total savings of 170 MWh, reducing the annual electricity bill from £32 000 to £17 000.
The design of the lighting control scheme balances the elimination of wasteful use of lighting with safety and security issues. The interior lights are in three rows, one of which is along the perimeter.
Daylight and presence detection are used to control the perimeter lights, which are not used at all if there is sufficient daylight. Perimeter lights also only come on if the movement of a car or person is detected.
The other two rows of lights are also controlled by presence detectors. However, SceneSelect II scene-setting and dimming technology maintains a minimum level of lighting for CCTV cameras.
www.ex-or.com
