AICO – Centre of Excellence

Dextra Group’s subsidiary LEDextra Ltd., return to the newly extended Aico’s Centre of Excellence to provide bespoke state-of-the-art LED lighting and advanced control systems.

About the Client

As innovators in the fire protection industry, Aico has been at the forefront of introducing new technologies to increase safety in homes across the UK. The Centre of Excellence in Oswestry was initially launched in 2015 as a port of call for fire-safety professionals, local authorities, social housing contractors and interested members of the public, seeking to learn more about the latest fire-protection technology and strategies. This year the centre has doubled in size as a result of its increasing success, with the welcome addition of new product launch rooms on site as well as two mobile demo and training units.

Dextra Group has once again been appointed as the lighting providers for the project, to deliver an attractive and high performing solution that would help reinforce the company’s image and support a range of PR and training events.

The Brief

LEDextra worked closely with Aico to deliver a complete solution for the new product launch rooms and amenities.

In line with the company’s commitment to technological advancement, the new lighting system would feature the latest LED sources and flexible wireless dimming controls to support a variety of events and activities.

A modern minimalist design approach was adopted to create an vibrant and stimulating environment for visitors: seamlessly integrating the lighting into the surrounding architecture and decor whilst mirroring the brand’s corporate theme and colours.

Market-leading LED products would be utilised throughout the project to offer superb quality of light and modern functionality without compromising the long-term financial and environmental sustainability of the installation.

“Neal Hooper, Managing Director of Aico stated that he wished both the quality and innovation of the lighting to match the sophistication and high level specification of the Centre of Excellence. Neal commented that “Dextra’s design and commissioning of their products ensured that the reaction to the lighting has been everything we could have wished for

The SOLUTION

General Lighting / Product Launch Room

Using the Tridonic Stark LLE-Flex, Dextra’s in-house design team was able to tailor a solution to Aico’s specific architectural and performance requirements. The LED strip can be bent and cut to size and is available in a wide luminous flux range to suit a variety of applications.

Manufactured with highly durable, long-life LEDs (up to 50,000 operating hours) and IP67 protection where needed (e.g. exterior applications), the strip offers maximum efficiency with minimal maintenance effort, making it a sustainable option for high-specification lighting projects.

In the top floor launch room, the LED tape contoured the shape of the walls, beams and ledges producing an attractive wall-wash effect. Thanks to a practical self-adhesive 3M backing for easy mounting onto a wide range of surfaces, the Tridonic Stark LLE flex was attached within bespoke aluminium profiles, which were recessed into each side of the beams and corners of the room.

This provides highly effective general lighting with their 1800lm/w version achieving the optimal illuminance level for the area of 340 lux at floor level. The strip now emanates a 4000k, cool-white light from a 15mm deep extrusion and was fitted with a purpose built semi-transparent optic which uniformly diffuses the light source, whilst concealing the individual LED chips.

As an additional feature, Osram’s LINEARlight Flex “Red Mono” LED lighting was installed around the sky-lights for contrast whilst echoing Aico’s brand colours and the furniture in the room. In the bathrooms, the Tridonic strip elegantly framed the mirrors to provide decorative and functional indirect lighting.

To offer maximum flexibility and precision in terms of controls, each row of LED lighting was installed with compact and reliable Tridonic One4all Constant Voltage DALI drivers offering seamless 1 – 100% dimming. These drivers feature a Constant Voltage function which gradually increases the voltage over the light strip’s lifetime, ensuring that the installation maintains the same light intensity as it did from the moment of purchase. The drivers would then communicate with several RAKO wireless RDA800 digital receivers to offer access from various locations around the building.

Overall, the lighting has complemented the centre’s unique and modern aesthetic whilst offering state-of-the-art functionality and efficiency.

Advanced Wireless Controls System

To offer flexible and easily accessible lighting control in the new demonstration and meeting rooms, LEDExtra provided a bespoke wireless DALI system using the latest high-quality products.

Several, strategically positioned, RAKO wireless RDA800 receivers allowed the LED lighting to be operated via RF 7-button wall plates from different areas of the building. Additional booster units were installed to boost the signal from the standard range of 15m to as far as 100m. Furthermore, RAKO’s RA Ethernet Bridge was installed alongside a WiFi router to provide remote and user-friendly lighting control using RAKO’s specialised app available on any Android and iOs platform.

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(+44) 01747 858100
(+44) 01747 858100