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I N S TA L L AT I O N N E W S
Philips illuminates County Hall
Philips, in association with Architainment Lighting Ltd The Barbican
has installed a state-of-the-art LED lighting solution at
London’s County Hall. Offering exceptional lighting
solution
projection of up to 500 feet, Philips ground breaking
ColorReach Powercore technology has ensured that
The Barbican Estate was officially opened in 1969. Designed
County Hall is now as much of an iconic landmark on
and built for City professionals, the dramatic architecture
London’s Southbank by night as it is by day.
was the work of Chamberlain, Powell and Bon. In 2001 it
Once the headquarters of local government for
became a Grade II listed building and since then has been
London, County Hall is, perhaps, better known for its
designated a site of special architectural interest for its scale,
tourist attractions, businesses and hotels, all of which
cohesion and the ambition of the project.
have made their home within this grand architectural
Nestled within the estate is the Barbican Centre, the
space. Now, the full height of the impressive Edwardian
largest multi-arts and conference venue in Europe. Until
baroque façade has been illuminated to stunning effect
recently offices occupied the space on top of the centre, but
using Philips ColorReach Powercore, a revolutionary
United House is now carefully regenerating them into 69
innovation in exterior LED floodlighting.
high specification residential units ranging from studios to
Sitting on London’s Southbank, the main six storey
three bedroom apartments.
building’s equally famous neighbour is the London Eye,
When specifying the heating for the units a major concern
which in recent years has also employed LEDs to maximise its appeal both by day and by night. Inspired by the results of these dynamic
was the environmental impact, the most efficient was
lighting effects property management company, Metropolitan Estates were keen to see how they could apply similar lighting techniques
required as it needed to be both economical and sustainable.
to the façade of County Hall.
Although underfloor heating could have been a possibility it
With LED development moving ever forward, the project was able to take full advantage of the latest introduction of Philips ColorReach
was not seen as a practical solution.
Powercore and the benefits it offered ensuring its two main objectives were fulfilled. The first of these was that the illumination of the
A wet system was still preferred and it was therefore
building should allow County Hall to become a distinctive and attractive landmark on the night time scene in its own right as well as
decided to specify the JG Speedfit Energy Saver Plus, which
providing a sense of cohesion with other attractions along this popular stretch of the river. Secondly, the lighting solution should be flexible
gave all stakeholders involved in the project the benefits they
enough to accommodate the requirements of corporate clients who hire out the area for their own events. The thinking here being that
required. It would allow a quick installation time for the
the lighting could be changed to reflect the brand colours of the individual companies involved.
Mechanical Engineer contractors Promech of Grays, Essex,
The performance of Philips ColorReach Powercore met both these criteria. ColorReach Powercore is the first LED architectural
while giving the end user an efficient and fully programmable
floodlight which is powerful enough to illuminate large-scale structures having more lumen output than any other comparable fixture for
heating system.
exterior illumination. Indeed, it offers over 5,000 lumens over an unprecedented light projection of over 500 feet. Peter Castelton,
Like an underfloor heating system, the Energy Saver Plus
managing director of Metropolitan Estates explains: “Having seen what Philips ColorReach Powercore was capable of at the initial trial we
utilises a manifold and through the use of programmable
were completely convinced that this was the right solution for us. We have certainly not seen anything that can beat its flexibility, superb
electrical controls allows the user to set time and
projection capability and excellent precision control. What is more is that it provides saturated colour output at significantly less cost for
temperature of the individual radiators in the system.
installation, operation and maintenance than traditional light sources – and in today’s current economic climate these cost elements simply
Matt Fletcher eastern regional sales manager for JG
cannot be ignored.“
Speedfit says: “Unlike a conventional radiator system where
Installation was a simple matter of replacing the existing fittings with the ColorReach modules. Thus, 16 fixtures were positioned at
radiators are connected to a common flow and return
intervals between the columns enhancing the broad sweep of the crescent shaped entrance of the building while four modules were
controlled by one thermostat, this manifold fed system
spaced along the façade itself. In effect, therefore, each 290 Watt module replaced 600 W conventional fittings, saving just over 50%.
allows each room to have its own individual hot water supply
To manage and deliver the light shows Philips iPlayer3 controller was housed remotely in a conveniently located workroom inside the
to its radiators. This offers big benefits for both the installer
building’s main entrance. The unique split design of ColorReach means that each half of the fixture is individually addressable and
and end user.”
controllable. This offers the potential for example to use one beam on the module’s lower half to bathe the vertical plane with colour at
For the Promech Engineers, one of the big benefits of the
street level whilst utilising a different beam angle to project a contrasting or complementary colour hundreds of feet up the building’s walls.
Speedfit System is that all connections to the manifold are
pushfit meaning that no tools are required. This reduces
costs in labour and allows the installation to be completed
Low energy humidification
quicker than if more traditional jointing methods had been
used.
The manifold was positioned in an appropriate place such
JS Humidifiers has supplied a low energy JetSpray humidifier to
as a storage cupboard or somewhere out of sight, high
provide electrostatic control to the award winning Fujitsu data centre in
enough off the floor to be able to push the pipe up into the
North London. Having employed many energy saving and IT
manifold. Speedfit Polybutylene pipe could be cabled
optimisation strategies, Fujitsu North London conserved the energy
through voids or walls to the radiator positions within the
equivalent of 6,000 homes per year and won Most Sustainable
dwelling.
Refurbishment at the Building Services Awards 2008.
To complete the system digital programmable thermostats
One of these energy saving strategies was to use heat recovered
were installed in every room with a radiator, allowing each
from the data halls to evaporate cold water sprays, rather than use
room individual time and temperature control. The
energy-hungry steam humidifiers, to humidify the fresh air entering the
thermostats were then wired back to a wiring centre that will
data centre.
operate the actuator valves on the manifolds at the
Lee Prescott, associate at engineering consultancy, Red Engineering
command of the thermostats.
Design, explains: “A low humidity presents an unacceptable risk of
The Energy Saver Plus system is a viable alternative where
static for a data hall, which at Fujitsu North London Data Centre was to
underfloor heating is simply not practical, giving many
be controlled to 50% ±10% relative humidity. The main humidity
benefits to both the installer and end user. By giving control
requirement is in the winter when the fresh air being introduced is very
to the householder of both time and temperature of each
cold with a saturated relative humidity but low moisture content. The incoming cold air is heated to 30°C prior to humidification with heat
room they can make the heating of the property fit their
recovered from the data halls, allowing the air to absorb more moisture. The spray humidification then increases the moisture content of
lifestyle, minimise heating bills and help to reduce their
the warm air whilst cooling it back down to the room supply temperature of 17°C.
carbon footprint. For the installer the easy and fast
“This humidification process is very energy efficient as the heat used to evaporate the moisture is recovered from the data hall, using
installation allows them to deliver an energy efficient heating
water to water heat pumps, removing the need for steam humidification.”
system in minimal time. The Barbican Development is due
The JetSpray compressed air and water humidifier installed in the air handling system at the datacentre is capable of releasing up to
for completion in early 2010.
160 litres of moisture per hour into the AHU. A JetSpray humidifier of this size uses approximately 320mW less energy to operate per
year than an equivalent electrical steam humidifier, resulting in an energy cost saving of over £35,000.
A pioneering design
LSI Architects has revealed the construction, will become part centre will be making a strong agriculture and other land- students from across the region other creepers. The centre will
design images of the new £9m of a complex with the existing architectural statement. It will based industry. and equip them with the skills have ground source heating and
teaching centre, Jubilee 3, at Jubilee 1 and 2 buildings, also be addressing environmental “Farming has a vital role in and qualifications that are will be naturally ventilated. The
Easton College in Norfolk. designed by LSI Architects, issues and giving us invaluable securing our food supply in the needed.” building will not only benefit
Designed by the London and around a central garden court. extra space to meet the years ahead and the East of David Thompson, the horticultural classes at the
Norwich based architectural It will provide two new demands of increasing England is perfectly placed to Principal in charge of the college but also those who can
practice, the Jubilee 3 laboratories, teaching rooms, numbers of students. It is the do that. However, there is a project at LSI, commented: study the building as part of a
Centre, embraces pioneering a lecture theatre to seat biggest element of a £21million shortage of the sort of talent “The new teaching centre is a new foundation degree course
green technology, making 66, a café, social areas and improvement scheme being that employers are seeking and highly sustainable building. It in sustainable engineering at
the scheme one of the most flexible learning space for the carried out at the college to everything we are doing here is will have a sedum roof, and the the college.”
advanced buildings of its students. attract students from across the designed to tackle that. Our entirely-glazed south-facing Jubilee 3 will be ready for the
type in the region. The Principal of Easton College, East of England and give them challenge is to get that positive wall will be protected by a brise- new intake of students in
building, which is now under David Lawrence, said: “The the skills being demanded by message out to potential soleil consisting of vines and summer 2010.
16 BUILDING SERVICES & ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEER JULY 2009
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