LIGHTING & CONTROL SYSTEMS


Intelligent design doesn’t stop with LEDs


Intelligent lighting design and controls are now delivering the biggest efficiency, compliance and wellbeing gains across offices, education, retail and healthcare – far beyond LEDs alone, argues Anthony Barrow.


Lighting Solutions Anthony Barrow


MD of Trojan trojan-lighting.co.uk A


In retrofit scenarios, existing housings can be reused with upgraded LED boards, drivers and controls. This approach reduces embodied carbon and waste, while still enabling modern control protocols such as wireless mesh-based systems or DALI- compatible drivers.


s UK organisations focus on reducing energy use, lighting remains one of the fastest ways to cut costs. Beyond


LEDs, the greatest gains now come from intelligent design and controls that reflect how spaces are used. A successful approach considers not just energy reduction, but compliance, user wellbeing, maintenance and long-term flexibility.


Offi ce lighting Commercial office lighting is typically designed to CIBSE LG7, with recommended illuminance levels, glare limits and uniformity ratios intended to make spaces easy and productive to work in. However, from an energy saving perspective, many office schemes still operate on fixed schedules or manual switching, regardless of how and when the building is occupied and actually used. Modern commercial lighting


solutions that integrate presence detection, daylight harvesting and zoning can significantly reduce lighting run-time and therefore costs. By using light levels or zone-based control rather than floor-wide switching, lighting responds dynamically to occupancy density and available daylight. For example, by using these techniques, we were able to reduce lighting energy consumption by 81% at Kellanova’s HQ in MediaCity, Manchester.


A well designed lighting scheme can help enhance product displays in retail outlets


EIBI | FEBRUARY 2026


Education environments School buildings usually consist of a wide mix of technically demanding spaces, from classrooms and labs to sports halls and corridors. Lighting systems must comply with relevant standards and also be robust and simple to manage. Like offices, new education projects


typically combine time scheduling, presence detection and zoning to minimise unnecessary use outside teaching hours. This functionality, present in most modern solutions, can be controlled via apps and dashboards. For estates teams managing large portfolios, this brings a huge saving in time and effort through centralised monitoring and automated reporting. Emergency lighting is a particular


focus. To be compliant with BS 5266, teams must carry out regular testing and keep accurate records, which can be administratively time consuming. Intelligent emergency lighting solutions, such as the one we designed and supplied to Newcastle City Library, incorporate self-test functionality,


LiFePO₄ battery technology, and automated reporting. This reduces manual testing while maintaining clear audit trails.


Retail and shopping centres Retail lighting systems are used in small boutique stores all the way up to large scale shopping centres. Reliability, ease of maintenance and energy performance are therefore as critical as product displays and customer engagement. In retail environments, lighting


directly influences how products are perceived and how customers move through the space. Well-designed schemes combine high colour rendering with controlled brightness to ensure product colours appear accurate, while layered lighting helps define key areas such as window displays and feature walls. Energy- efficient LED and intelligent controls allow lighting levels to be adjusted by time of day, season, or promotional activity to support visual impact without unnecessary energy use. We’ve used this approach at GAP’s new flagship store in Covent Garden. At the other end of the spectrum,


energy reduction and automation are key. At Westquay Shopping Centre in Southampton, we delivered a large- scale upgrade across back-of-house and car park areas, supplying over 4,500 luminaires. The project was


Glare control and colour rendering are important considerations in healthcare environments


the first globally to deploy a driver technology with embedded wireless control software, removing the need for separate control nodes. From a technical perspective, embedding control functionality directly within the driver reduces hardware count, simplifies installation, and removes single points of failure. The resulting wireless mesh network supports automated emergency lighting testing, real-time fault reporting and energy monitoring.


Healthcare and hospitals Healthcare lighting must meet tough technical and operational requirements. Guidance such as CIBSE LG2 explains the importance of uniformity, glare control and colour rendering in clinical environments, as visual accuracy can directly affect patient care and staff performance. As well as reducing energy use


and increasing control, intelligent lighting can improve resilience as well as efficiency. On a recent project at a London hospital, an issue with driver configuration in their operating theatre lighting had to be fixed, which normally would have required invasive access and extensive downtime. Instead, we worked with our technology partners to isolate the required DALI commands and deploy a firmware update wirelessly via the lighting network. The problem was resolved without physical intervention, avoiding serious disruption to clinical activity. In ward and corridor refurbishments


at St Thomas’ Hospital, we delivered integrated general, emergency and exit lighting all with wireless control systems. These installations support BS 5266 compliance, reduce manual testing and help free up facility maintenance teams for other jobs. The improved lighting increases staff comfort during long shifts, supporting wellbeing alongside compliance.


Maintenance and future use Across all sectors, our projects demonstrate that well designed, intelligent lighting systems can simplify rather than complicate installation and maintenance. Wireless controls reduce the


need for switch drops and control cabling, speeding up installation programmes and reducing site disruption. Commissioning can be carried out via software tools, allowing light levels, scenes and testing regimes to be configured and adjusted without physical rework and in real-time. ■


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