Dextra Lighting’s affordable, energy-efficient LED luminaries open up financial opportunities for UCLan, as rapid returns on investment will contribute to securing a sustainable future for the university. The LED upgrade’s success shows good prospects for continued business involvement with the institution.
According to its Environmental Sustainability Policy, UCLan is not satisfied with simply meeting carbon reduction targets but aims to “be a model international university for sustainability”. This ambition has proven to be far more than an optimistic intention, as the institution has been ranked within the top 5 universities for its environmental and ethical performance in the People and Planet League of Universities, whilst its environmental management system has received ISO140001 recertification for two consecutive years.
Overall, UCLan has been lauded for its professionalism in maintaining sustainable practice in its development and procurement strategies, as well as involving and educating students and the local community through exciting green projects.
As with all universities, UCLan is constantly under pressure to compete in the education market by offering the best possible facilities and services to current and prospective students. Nowadays, with government incentives geared towards reducing carbon footprints in all sectors, followed up by increasing public awareness, infrastructural improvements in education have become highly dependent on the efficient management of energy expenditure and waste. Investment in green technology plays a central role here, as not only are these covered by incentivised schemes such as the CRC, but crucially create long-term energy savings that can be recycled towards redeveloping other aspects of the university. With lighting amounting to such a huge proportion of the energy cost of educational buildings, the financial paybacks of LED are potentially game-changing.
Dextra Lighting have long been involved with educational establishments nationwide to make this redistribution of capital resources as productive and eco-friendly as possible. With an exhaustive range of the latest energy-efficient and cost-effective LED products, as well as being an ethically sound business, Dextra Lighting ticked all the boxes of UCLan’s sustainable procurement policy. The LED upgrade was performed in three key locations as part of an ongoing refurbishment programme targeting the environmental impact and financial viability of the entire university.
The first location was the UCLan’s Media Factory; a state-of-the-art building, fully equipped with specialist rooms including: film/photographic studios, video editing rooms and Apple Mac suites. The department serves as a “business incubation facility”, offering graduates and entrepreneurs a platform to launch their new enterprises into the digital and creative industry. The brief here, was to completely replace the existing fluorescent lighting with a modern, energy-efficient LED alternative. After an initial assessment, the client agreed upon a proposal to install over 200 Protec LED downlights across the entire building.
In terms of performance, the Protec LED combines highly efficient anodised aluminium reflectors (available in both OptiSpec and OptiSat) with the latest Philips LEDs and Fortimo/Xitanium drivers, to offer LORs in excess of 90% and efficient light distribution.
The luminaire is one the most versatile products in the Dextra Lighting range, offering a wide range of reflectors and colour attachments that can be removed and replaced post-installation. These options make it adaptable to changes in room layout, style or colour schemes. A selection of custom bezels and beam angle options also allow each installation to be tailored to client’s exact needs.
The Protec was the single choice for this location as it is suited to a number of environments. For instance, in addition to its standard IP44 clear cover, the luminaire can also be silicone sealed in a IP65 on installation, version for bathrooms or wet areas. A BSEN 12464 glare compliant variant is also available for areas where monitors are in use such as the Mac suites and editing rooms.
The luminaire comes in lumen packages between 1100lm and 3000lm, offering increased flexibility to achieve optimal spacings for each designated area. Flexibility also applies to the Protec’s installation, as its quick and easy, four point clamping spring bracket system is suitable for plasterboard and mineral fibre ceiling tiles, upon thicknesses between 3mm and 30mm. Custom bezels for existing ceiling cut-outs are available upon request for retrofit applications.
The luminaire can be installed with DALI or Touch Dim dimming options and is compatible with a range of sensors for daylight and presence detection.
Staff at UCLan were particularly impressed by the “educational look” and premium performance of the Graduate Recessed LED. This luminaire was used to relight the Darwin Lecture theatre; a principal venue with a capacity of 450, equipped with the latest audio visual equipment capable of 3D projection. It was therefore imperative that the lighting could be controlled to support a variety of events from presentations to large conferences.
This recent addition to the highly successful Graduate range, utilises the latest Philips Lumileds which guarantee long life and low maintenance. As a result, the university no longer has to worry about frequently shutting down the theatre for the replacement of faulty lamps, as was required with fluorescent lighting.
The Graduate Recessed “educational look” is attributable to its direct/indirect gull-wing aesthetic common to many traditional fluorescent luminaires. Behind the look, precoat aluminium gull-wing reflectors and prismatic opal extruded diffusers offer efficient transmission and great distribution of light. Although delivered fully flush as standard, the central optic can be adjusted to a semi-recessed position to meet the client’s requirements.
The luminaire is offered in a wide range of lumen outputs from 3500lm to as high as 14,400lm in three different body sizes. The 3500lm and the 7000lm variants both fall below the 3000 candela limit and are therefore suited for the lecture theatre, where laptops, projectors and other VDUs are often in use.
The lighting controls were an important aspect of the design. With LED light sources being fully dimmable, the installed controls allowed the client to easily adjust the lighting for a variety of tasks. The Graduate Recessed LED offers versatility also in this department, as its available in analogue, switch dimming, DALI dimming and DSI.
The lumanaire is available in both pull up and lay in options to suit a range of ceiling types and is also offered with 25 l/s air handling; a unique feature amongst Dextra’s LED modular range at present.
Circulation areas in the Foster building, one of UCLan main venues, have been refreshed and modernised by replacing the previous fluorescent lighting with the MODLED Curve recessed lumininaire. The luminaires were quickly and efficiently fitted in the corridors’ exposed T ceiling system via lay-in installation.
The MODLED Curve is designed to add a new aesthetic dimension to the popular MODLED range. Luminaires from the MODLED family have a proven track record for excellent efficiency, low maintenance as well as easy, and therefore cost-effective, installation. What is unique about the MODLED Curve is its elegant curved diffusers, which provide a uniform and attractive distribution of light onto walls and ceilings.
Despite a strong focus on visual appeal, the MODLED Curve’s design does not make compromises in overall performance. The luminaire boasts LORs of up to 78% thanks to its high-transmission contoured diffuser panel and by utilising high quality Philips LEDs for long life and minimal maintenance.
Great versatility is also a key feature of this product, with its wide range of lumen outputs from 3500lm to 6800lm in 600mm x 600mm sizes and 7000lm and 9000lm options in 1200mm x 600mm luminaires. Allf lumen packages also comply with BSEN 12464 3000 candela glare requirements, making them suitable for areas where monitors are in use, whilst providing visual comfort for staff and students.
The MODLED Curve can be installed compatible dimming controls (HFR, DALI, Switch Dimming, and DSI dimming) to maximise energy savings.
Overall, the combination of state-of-the art sensors, advanced dimming functions, industry leading LEDs and the efficient optic design of Dextra Lighting’s luminaires, have given the entire installation the necessary technological edge to guarantee massive energy savings and therefore dramatically reduce UCLan’s carbon footprint.
But the benefits of the upgrade to do not end here. Once installed, the luminaires will require minimal maintenance compared to fluorescent lighting and their performance and energy-efficiency will continue to meet the required standards in years to come.
As a welcome bonus, all LED products are covered by Dextra’s comprehensive 5 year warranty, protecting UCLan’s investment further. For the safety of staff and students alike, three hour emergency lighting was also provided for each location.
