BUILDING CONTROLS Project Ocean comes to life INSTALLATION NEWS
Find your controls champion
By Ian Ellis President of the Building Controls Industry Association
Philips, in collaboration with Architainment Lighting Limited, has provided Selfridges, one of the world’s most prestigious retail destinations, situated in the heart of London’s bustling Oxford Street, with state- of-the-art LED lighting. Selfridges needed a flexible lighting solution that could produce a broad spectrum of colours and effects to support the department store’s key events and projects, specifically Project Ocean. It also required lighting that would entice and inspire shoppers by enhancing the retail experience. Furthermore, with sustainability high on the agenda, the lighting solution also needed to deliver energy savings. Philips’
expertise and unrivalled
t has been said before in this column that one of the benefits and disadvantages of building controls and building energy management systems (BEMS) is that they are hidden energy savers. Operating largely unnoticed by building occupants, controls may be overlooked and as a result building managers may not see the full energy saving benefits these technologies are capable of delivering. Ideally, building controls and BEMS in any building would have their own champion - an individual to take responsibility for ensuring that the performance of controls is regularly monitored and recorded. A controls champion would also be responsible for tracking the output of data from a BEMS to report on building energy performance, anomalies in energy use or the results of energy saving strategies adopted by the organisation.
I If one person can take on the role of controls champion, there are many benefits.
Perhaps one of the most important is that at least one person in the building will know how the BEMS operates, and they can take responsibility for ensuring that their training is kept up-to-date. For the controls champion, there is a logical sequence that can be followed, creating a continuous feedback loop that ensures energy-use and carbon emissions are minimised. Firstly you need to determine what your energy management requirements are, for
example is it to reduce energy consumption, minimise carbon emissions or a mix of both. The next step is to assess how effectively the existing controls and BEMS are meeting these requirements. You then need to carry out a technical assessment of the BEMS and controls. This might include simple steps such as examining sensors to ensure they are operating correctly or checking that manual overrides have not been left on. It is also important to be able to anticipate how energy management requirements might change, so liaison with the wider business is important, as is selecting appropriate energy controls strategies such as demand control. Finally, once implemented you need to establish a programme of continuous assessment and performance monitoring. Active use of controls and BEMS always gives the best results in terms of efficient
and effective operation of building services such as heating, ventilation and lighting. By 'active' the BCIA means that controls are not a fit-and-forget technology because no matter how intelligent the BEMS is, the real brains of the system sit in front of the screen.
12 BUILDING SERVICES & ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEER SEPTEMBER 2011
knowledge of LED lighting meant it was able to provide Selfridges with a dynamic, low- maintenance lighting solution capable of completely transforming the department store’s facade at the push of a button, while at the same time delivering energy savings of 30%. With this solution, Philips was able to support the global launch of Selfridges’ Project Ocean campaign which is designed to engage the public on the issue of overfishing, by creating a highly visual and impactful ‘sea’
effect on the building. A
powerful display of this kind meant that the campaign’s call to action encouraging people to eat more sustainably would engage and reach an even wider audience.
High performance
Selfridges is renowned for its thematic window displays that change throughout the year to support pivotal moments in time and important campaigns.
Therefore, Philips
used a range of adaptable, high- performance LED luminaires that combine rich, saturated colour and customised effects with simplified installation and maintenance. Philips’ flagship ColorReach Powercore, which represents the next generation in exterior lighting, was used to highlight the building’s key architectural features. The ColorBlast PowerCore, suitable for both interior and exterior architectural lighting, was used for its versatile positioning and wide range of capabilities including wall washing, grazing, floodlighting and spot lighting. Furthermore, Philips’ linear, colour- changing LED surface light, the ColorGraze Powercore, was used for its compact and low profile design with flexible mounting options that allows for discreet placement.
Selfridges is not only an iconic retail destination, but the building itself is a listed landmark with many beautiful and historic architectural features and there are strict rules in place governing how fixtures are affixed to the building. Philips worked closely with Selfridges’
in-house electrical
contractor to find solutions to this issue and it was decided that a special resin would be used to mount the lighting, omitting the need for any drilling, which is prohibited. The lighting had to be installed out of opening times to ensure the project did not cause any disruption to the store’s normal operations. Architainment, who supplied the lighting for the project, showed utmost flexibility by providing technical expertise and support late into the night, alongside Lateral Concepts who carried out the installation after hours.
Iconic campaign
Lee Shields, Key Account Manager for Architainment said: “It has been an absolute honour to be involved in lighting such an iconic building in London, especially given its association with such an exciting and credible environmental campaign. As with any high profile project, there have been obstacles we’ve worked hard to overcome, but seeing the positive response to the lighting has made this a particularly rewarding and proud experience for Architainment.” Rolando Faley, Selfridges Head of
Facilities and Project Management says: “Philips provided our store with a lighting solution that not only helps to reduce our carbon footprint, but grants us full flexibility in adapting the lighting to fit an endless range of themes through the diverse palette of colours. The ‘sea’ effect created on the building’s facade to help raise awareness of our Project Ocean campaign was truly effective and is just one example of what we are able to achieve with the lighting. The scheme accommodated the building’s architecture and listed status while the work was carried out outside the store’s opening hours to avoid disruption for shoppers.”
Although the initial brief was to provide a scheme for the external facade on Oxford Street, the decision was made to extend the scheme to both Duke Street and Orchard Street to wrap the lighting around the building so that it would be visible from all approaches.
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