‘The moon, unlike the sun, lets you look at her, it seems she wants to be looked at’, commented Paolo Di Trapani, CEO of CoeLux, who is behind the latest innovation.
CoeLux Moon aims to create a comforting and relaxing ambience and less light is used to produce the final effect than the original sunlight CoeLux uses.
CoeLux’s artificial skylights have rocked the industry due to their convincing reproduction of sunlight. Now the company has launched a new version that aims to be just as successful at recreating the night sky.
CoeLux Moon is being launched at Euroluce 2017, which is currently taking place in Milan.
‘The moon, unlike the sun, lets you look at her, it seems she wants to be looked at,’ commented Paolo Di Trapani, CEO of CoeLux, who is behind the latest innovation.
CoeLux chose last year’s LuxLive to launch the second generation of the CoeLux daylight range, which is comprised of smaller less costly fittings.
‘By rebuilding the physical mechanisms that happen in the atmosphere we have ended up with a product that allows people to feel the same as they do when they look up at the real sky.’ Di Trapani continued.
CoeLux Moon aims to create a comforting and relaxing ambience and less light is used to produce the final effect than the original sunlight CoeLux uses.
The potential health benefits that might be derived from using CoeLux are still being investigating by the company.
CoeLux claims to have psychological and physiological data on the capacity of people to relax and feel calmer when using CoeLux and it might even possibly be used to improve post-operation recovery times in hospitals.
‘We have evidence from the psychological ward at the San Raffaele Hospital in Milan, that people who have a room on the sunny east side recovered 20 to 30 percent faster from operations than those on the west side of the building,’ Di Trapani told Lux Magazine.
It will be interesting to see if CoeLux Moon has the same effect on wellbeing as the company’s original skylight.
George Washington crossing the Delaware River during the American Revolution. Don’t be lulled into inaction like the British in Boston Harbour in 1773….IoT will be the next revolution in the lighting industry and you need to be prepared.
Gordon Routledge of Revo reports: The next revolution in lighting has arrived in the form of IoT (Internet of Things) and it’s going to change everything.
I’ve been talking about the technological leap forward that IoT represents with a lot of people in the lighting industry, but mostly I am met with blank looks whenever I raise the topic. IoT is even dismissed by some as something that won’t be coming to fruition any time soon.
Ironically, I used to get exactly the same response when I spoke about LEDs some 15 years ago. Change takes time as Bill Gates once said:
I tend to be an early adopter of technology but sometimes I fail to spot the trend. I could not, at first, for example, understand YouTube. Why would you want to make your own video and share it on the Internet? Why would you want to watch that video on a tiny screen on a mobile phone, while sitting on a bus? Yet 11 years on Lux has its own YouTube channel, which has clocked up over 1.4 million views. This is, of course, quite pathetic, when placed in comparison with the multi-millions of views that funny cat videos attract.
The birth of YouTube came well before smartphones and high speed mobile connectivity, it needed some other megatrends to develop for it to rise to its full potential
Now, let’s get one thing clear, the term ‘smart’ is not a replacement for dimmable. Just because you can dim your lights with a smart phone does not mean that you are at the forefront of the IoT revolution. Instead IoT hides in various overused and sometimes difficult to understand terms, Connected Lighting, Smart Cities, LiFi and PoE, being just a few. These are the trends that are helping IoT to take off.
Verizon, the American communications company have bought Sensity in order to widen their IoT offering.
So why has the world changed this week? For starters Verizon, one of the world’s largest mobile phone operators, purchased Sensity Systems. Hugh Martin the CEO spoke at one of our conferences two years ago, his vision was simple, all lights are going to be replaced with LED over the next ten years, so, he said, when we do the conversion let’s pack them full of sensors, cameras and wireless networking devices and use the network to build new business apps.
It was jaw dropping for our audience at the time, but Hugh was right on the money. While Sensity’s gun shot detection app may not find a ready use in Europe, Verizon clearly see value in some of their products that they can offer to their millions of subscribers, leveraging the data collected by millions of lighting points.
The Amazon Echo, which allows users to switch on their lights with the sound of their own voice.
For years we have talked about the death of the light switch and the reason given to prevent this is that people don’t want to reach for a smart phone in the middle of the night to turn the lights on, even though your smart phone is surely going to be closer to your bed than the nearest light switch.
The giving of verbal instructions could well be the true intuitive lighting control, but it won’t work for me, as my wife says I have a habit of talking in my sleep, and lighting is frequently the subject.
The Yellow Dot program allows manufacturers to develop LEDs that work with Philips’ indoor positioning technology.
Of course, Amazon won’t be making lights, although they do have their own brand, Amazon Essentials, so rule nothing out when it comes to anticipating the next move of this cunning company.
Amazon currently relies upon other manufacturers to make devices compatible with Alexa, such as LiFx smart lamps. If I made residential lighting controls I would be very concerned about this move. Lighting control is moving from the cupboard to being in the lamp, and the user interface is migrating from the wall plate to an Amazon owned device.
Finally, Philips has open sourced their light based indoor location system, which is perhaps a canny move for the future. Many smaller OEM’s can’t play in the IoT space and clients and designers will not want to be held to ransom in order to buy Philips fixtures to implement a system.
It also gets Philips away from the dirty business of having to sell rapidly commoditising fixtures. Instead they simply collect data from lighting and sell it on to the end user. Thus data starts to replace lamps as a continuous revenue stream.
These are, of course, just announcements from the last week. But if you throw into the mix Cisco and Acuity Brands buying tech companies with gusto and huge, but lesser known, companies such as Delta Electronics who snapped up Loytec Electronics earlier in the year, you start to realise that the stage is being set for a revolution.
Big technology companies want to use the installation of LEDs to harvest as much data as they can.
It’s becoming clear that big technology companies want to be active on the lighting scene. They don’t want to join in our fun debates about standards, colour quality, lamp bases, glare and flicker though. All they want to do is gain access to the billions of lighting fixtures in the word and harvest the data they collect, enabling new business models to be built that don’t exist today.
You may not believe me, and I’m sure you can find hundreds of reasons as to why it just will not happen…but, read my lips, in ten years time IoT will be on everyone’s mind.
GE to deliver energy savings of more than 50% and cut greenhouse gas emissions by more than 7,000 tonnes annually with Santander lighting infrastructure upgrade
Demonstrating that corporations no longer have to choose between ‘profit and planet’, GE has delivered a cash-positive lighting infrastructure upgrade for the UK business of global banking institution Santander.
Lux reports: As the UK’s biggest ever fully-funded LED lighting retrofit, the project will see 90,000 new lights installed across the bank’s UK estate of 800 branches and 13 office buildings – slashing energy use in half and reducing carbon emissions by more than 7,000 tonnes each year.
Providing a full scope solution, GE will deliver lighting services throughout the 10-year contract, which includes optimised system design, installation, maintenance and management.
Importantly, the project is to be delivered using a cash-positive financing model, in a move that is set to reinvent the way people (companies?) think about investment in energy efficient lighting upgrades. The model includes a substantial investment of £17.5 million by the UK Green Investment Bank plc and Sustainable Development Capital Limited, making it the biggest LED-financing package the UK has ever seen.
This unconventional approach, in which the financing partners enable the lighting to be procured as a service rather than a product purchase, allows Santander to benefit from the reduced operating costs and improved energy efficiency of the LED lighting but without the capital investment and impact on the balance sheet – a flexible solution that could pave the way for many other organisations to follow suit.
Dan Vinton, CFO GE Lighting EMEA at , commented: “The lighting industry has changed dramatically in the last few years, moving away from supplying product as a simple disposable commodity, to providing high value solutions to customers while becoming a true energy efficiency partner. The old models of the lighting industry are no longer fit for purpose in this new market and this project represents a glimpse into the new world.”
“More than anything, this project has been about listening to our customer’s needs and working with them to develop a tailored package of lighting and finance solutions that perfectly meet their requirements. The strength, credibility and expertise represented by the GE brand helped make the project bankable which was a key element of success. We’re privileged to have been able to walk this learning journey together with our partners and proud of what we have accomplished here. We are now focused on scaling this offering more broadly and allowing more customers in our target markets and verticals to benefit from this type of smart value creation.”
Nick Roberts, Property Director, at Santander, said: “We launched our 20-20-15 energy efficiency strategy three years ago, in which we committed to reducing energy consumption and CO2 emissions by 20 per cent by 2015. LED lighting has become an integral part of our Energy Efficiency Plan and plays a key role in achieving these overall sustainability goals. Through this lighting upgrade we have taken a huge step forward in executing our long-term efficiency objectives, with GE providing the support, scale and suitable products that we needed.”
Visit www.novelenergylighting.com today to explore what LED can do for you. Distributors for all major brands, including GE LED. Call today for project pricing and financing details: 0208-540-8287, or email: sales@novelenergylighting.com
Philips and Cisco team up while Gooee unveils its latest generation of internet-connected products. Lux Today for 15 December 2015 presented by Courtney Ferguson.
With the cost of lamps and luminaires from Asia continuing to fall, experts are warning over compromises on quality. Special interview with Barrie Vesty of Shenzhen-based Auraled Lighting. Lux Today for December 8 2015, presented by Courtney Ferguson.
There’s more cookies than meet the eye in Target these days: Indoor LED ceiling lights that can ‘spy’ on customers and send promotional messages to their smartphones – such as those that Target is trialling – could turn brick-and-mortar shopping into an online-like experience. Cookies and pop-ups can follow you, even in the physical world.
American retail giant Target has revealed that 100 of its stores are now deploying LED ceiling lights to track in-shop customers and guide them to relevant products via their smartphones, a nascent practice which could become the biggest thing in brick-and-mortar retail technology since the barcode.
The $73 billion chain told Lux that the scheme uses wireless signals that travel between LED lights and shoppers’ Android gadgets. The 100 locations mark the largest known deployment of ‘spy lights’ by any retailer, and could spur broader uptake.
Lux disclosed last April that Target was pioneering the technology at a small number of stores, where it is monitoring customers, pinging them with promotions, guiding them straight to relevant and discounted products, and tying them into loyalty schemes.
At the time the Minneapolis-based group declined to confirm it. The company has now decided to say more. But not much more.
‘This fall, in about 100 stores, Target began testing technology with new LED lights that can provide in-store location information to guests using the Android version of the Target app with select Android phones,’ a spokesperson told Lux. Target calls its customers ‘guests.’ The company made no mention of iPhone support.
Target would not reveal which wireless networking technology it is using. It is believed to be testing both ‘visible light communication’ (VLC), as we reported in April, as well as Bluetooth.
VLC encodes product information in the flickering wavelengths of LED light – the flicker is imperceptible to the human eye – and transmits that information to the camera of a user’s phone. Proponents of VLC say it is more accurate than other technologies such as Bluetooth, and can thus pinpoint a product and a customer’s location in a store and can more precisely steer a customer to a product in a large, difficult to navigate shop.
But advances in the better-known Bluetooth could possibly make it a contender for so-called ‘indoor positioning.’
‘With this pilot, the app provides “blue dot” navigation assistance in the app’s store map to help guests more easily find what they’re looking for as they shop our stores,’ the Target spokesperson said, noting that customers ‘can choose to disable this pilot functionality with the app.’ A ‘blue dot’ denotes a customer’s current location on a floor map of the store displayed on the Target app, he explained.
Other retailers are also experimenting with indoor positioning systems. France’s Carrefour, the world’s third largest retails chain, is running a pilot based on Philips technology at a 7,800-square foot outlet in Lille, France. Philips is considering offering VLC as a service.
GE claims to have two trial VLC customers in Europe and two in the US, although it will not publicly name them.
Target would not reveal the technology provider. In addition to Philips, VLC suppliers include GE, Acuity (which buoyed its VLC capabilities earlier this year by purchasing specialist ByteLight),Qualcomm and Scottish startup PureLiFi, among others. Acuity’s eldoLED division will demonstrate VLC at this week’s LuxLive exhibition in London on Wednesday and Thursday.
Smart lighting startup Gooee is marketing an embedded technology platform that provides indoor positioning through Bluetooth mesh. Indoor positioning is one feature among several in what Gooee calls its ‘IoT Stack’ – an ‘Internet of Things’ engine that when embedded in lights will help them intelligently support a host of operations including people and product tracking, building security, and lighting management and maintenance. Gooee is showing the technology at LuxLive.
Indoor positioning is expected to usher in a brave new era of personalising a shopper’s in-store shopping, and tailoring it with promotions, ads and information in a manner akin to today’s online shopping.
Lux Today 16 September 2015: Utilities across the US are engaged in a massive program to cut the demand for energy – using lighting. Ray Molony reports from Oklahoma.
This underpass near King’s Cross and St Pancras stations in North London is saving money on energy and maintenance since it had its old metal halide lights replaced with specially designed LED road tunnel luminaires from Philips.
The St Pancras Road underpass is a busy road, cycle and pedestrian route to the two major train stations, as well as providing access to Camden Council’s new offices. It was previously lit by around 100 twin-lamp metal halide fittings and the council saw an opportunity to visually improve what had become a gloomy and uninviting area. This was a ‘spend to save’ initiative to take advantage of energy-efficiency gains and lower maintenance costs while also reducing carbon emissions.
The lighting design was carried out by Philips and the new luminaires were installed by main contractor SPIE. SPIE’s John Broster said: ‘The previous luminaires were fitted into the soffit of the underpass and as this is a concrete strutted roof it would have been impractical to alter it. We needed a solution that could provide a direct replacement for the existing fittings.’
The stainless steel luminaires have been installed on a one-for-one replacement basis, to provide energy savings of more than 50 per cent. The new lighting has increased light levels and uniformity to remove the gloom, while the 4000K neutral white colour temperature has created a better and more inviting visual environment for users of the underpass. The tunnel feels safer and more pleasant.
The project also provided an ideal opportunity to make better use of lighting control. ‘As this is a short underpass the lighting only requires one-step dimming and we were able to adjust the existing system, using high light levels during the day and dimming at night to minimise the contrast for drivers entering the underpass,’ said Broster.
The council has achieved a significant reduction in energy consumption, while also reducing maintenance costs as the luminaires are expected to be virtually maintenance-free throughout their lifetime, and should pay for themselves in about five years.
Contact Novel Energy Lighting to discuss your LED lighting retrofit requirements. We work hand in hand with the major lighting manufacturers like Philips to specify, supply, and install projects. Tel: 0208-540-8287. Email: sales@novelenergylighting.com
Four different LED GU10s – showing the variation in colours available
Lux Reports: Nowadays, it’s nigh-on impossible to buy a luminaire from the DIY sheds or a high-street retailer which doesn’t have a GU10 cap. 12v lamps seem to have had their day as far as the mass retailers are concerned.
It isn’t difficult to match the light output of a 20W or 35W halogen GU10, so we have only tested LED lamps that claim equivalence to a 50W.
The European DIM2 regulation says that to make this claim, the LED GU10 lamp must emit more than 345 lm in a 90-degree cone. The total lumen output, including light that falls outside this cone, may be considerably higher. Some of the lamps tested emit over 500 lm so they would clearly be seen as an improvement if you retrofitted them in an existing installation of halogen GU10 (with the same beam width).
Our understanding is that all products currently on the market must conform to DIM2. But we regularly hear of lamps that don’t”
We’ve asked several experts, and our understanding is that all products currently on the market must conform to DIM2. But we regularly hear of lamps that don’t.
The problem for Joe Public is that some lamps don’t state on the box whether the lumen output quoted is the total emitted or within the 90-degree cone. Some quote both figures. Reputable manufacturers use phrases like ‘usable lumens’ or ’90-degree cone’ so you know what you are buying. However, until all suppliers mark their packaging clearly, it is impossible for the purchaser to make fair comparisons between the different products. No wonder people buy the cheapest or the one quoting the biggest lumen value.
The situation is made worse because there is no effective policing of the market. This, in effect, benefits the poor quality, low-cost suppliers to the detriment of the manufacturers of good-quality lamps.
One last point to make is that a 90-degree cone isn’t really what you would call a spotlight. For the non-trigonometrists amongst you, that’s a two-metre wide illuminated patch from a lamp one metre away.
If you are as confused as I am by all the test standards that cover LEDs, there is a useful summary on the LIA website. Look for Technical Statement TS01. It’s nine pages long and covers existing and proposed European and US regulations and guidance.
None of the 11 lamps we’ve tested here had a particularly high power factor. The best was Osram at 0.88 and the poorest were the Aurora and Bell at 0.52. Why does this matter? Because it means that you are drawing more current than might be apparent from just looking at the wattage. An electrician complained to me about this because he had to resize all his fuses in a (large) domestic house purely because of equipment with a poor power factor.
Before you buy the lamps, you should check what the beam looks like. Some have coloured edges or don’t have a smooth gradation of light from the centre to the edge. The three on the left of the main photo for this article are all rated at 2700K and the one on the right is rated at 3000K.
Summary of results
We were pleased to see that, generally, the performance was as claimed. We measured the total light output.
Note that we tested just one lamp from each supplier. There are always tolerances in manufacturing and so the lamp you buy may not perform exactly as the one we tested. However, these lamps are made by the million; it would be surprising if they varied that much.
Our testing was done at the independent LIA Laboratories in Telford.
Thanks to LIA Labs for their help!
Aurora Enlite 3000K, 5W
The Enlite is a brand new range of lamps. What really sets it apart from the other lamps we tested is the efficacy of 96 lm/W – almost 500 lm from 5W. It also has a 60-degree beam, wider than the others tested, which makes it much more useful for lighting areas where you want a general spread of light.
Output 493 lm
Power 5.1W
Efficacy 96 lm/W
CCT 2979K
CRI 82
Power factor 0.52
Overall ****
British Electric Lamps 3000K, 6W
Bell slightly undersells itself inasmuch as the packaging indicates 6W consumption whereas we measured 4.65W. However, the power factor was 0.52 and the measured lumen output 358 lm, just above the minimum 345 lm allowed by DIM2.
Ra is 82 per cent.
Output 358 lm
Power 4.7W
Efficacy 76 lm/W
CCT 3073K
CRI 82
Power factor 0.52
Overall ***
Integral LED 2700K, 7.5W
Integral’s 7.5W lamp performed almost exactly as claimed on the box. 7.4W versus 7.5W claimed and 499 lm instead of 500. That’s what you call tight manufacturing tolerances. The CRI was 80 and the measured power factor was 0.76, better than most. The packaging quotes both total lumens and those in a 90-degree beam.
Output 499 lm
Power 7.4W
Efficacy 67 lm/W
CCT 2633K
CRI 80
Power factor 0.76
Overall ****
Kosnic LED
This is a good little lamp. It quotes both total and 90-degree lumens on the package, 480lm and 450lm respectively. It’s actually an understatement because we measured a total 505 lm. 7W consumption is claimed but our sample was 5.6W. Bearing in mind it is 2700K, the measured 90 lm/W is remarkable. It has a 38-degree beam with quite a soft edge.
Output 505 lm
Power 5.6W
Efficacy 90 lm/W
CCT 2723K
CRI 83
Power factor 0.53
Overall **** A nice little lamp
Megaman 2800K, 7W
This particular 7W lamp consumed eight per cent more power and emitted nine per cent less light than the claims on the box indicated. The CRI was a whisker over 80. The CCT was pretty much as claimed at 2879K compared with a quoted 2800K. The power factor was a respectable 0.67.
Output 500 lm
Power 7.6W
Efficacy 66 lm/W
CCT 2879K
CRI 82
Power factor 0.67
Overall ***
Osram Parathom 2700K, 5.3W
As you would expect from Osram, this lamp performed almost exactly as stated on the box – 5.15W, 2688K, 355 lm against a stated 350 lm. The power factor at 0.88, was the highest we tested, so the electricians won’t have to worry about fuse sizes. In a way, Osram undersell themselves because they don’t quote total lumens on the box. A non-specialist – i.e. 99 per cent of purchasers – might think it doesn’t perform so well as the cheaper competition.
Output 355 lm
Power 5.2W
Efficacy 68 lm/W
CCT 2688K
CRI 81
Power factor 0.88
Overall ****
Philips MasterLED Spot 4000K, 5.5W
We tested the Master LEDspot MV, which is nominally a 5.5W unit. The measured wattage on the samples was 5.4W with a PF of 0.66. This lamp performed slightly better than the claims on the packaging, with a lumen output that was 8 per cent higher. It also had an Ra of 86; which is more than most products of this type.
Output 417 lm
Power 5.4W
Efficacy 77 lm/W
CCT 3890K
CRI 86
Power factor 0.66
Overall ****
Soraa Brilliant 3000K, 7.5W
Although this lamp had the highest wattage, it also had almost the highest lumen output and CRI. We tested the 10-degree narrow spot and this produces a good, clean beam with a clearly defined centre. This lamp is one of the Brilliant series, with a CRI of 80+ (Soraa is better known for its Vivid range, with CRIs above 95). There is also a useful range of clip-on lenses and accessories which can change the beam width or colour temperature.
Output 503 lm
Power 7.7W
Efficacy 66 lm/W
CCT 2834K
CRI 85
Power factor 0.78
Overall ****
Sylvania 5W RefLED ES50
This is a really good lamp. As you would expect, all the information is on the box. The power factor is much better than claimed and was the second highest we tested. The total measured output was 413 lm and this bumps its efficacy to third best. However, forget about the figures, what sets this lamp apart, both on and off, is its appearance. A lot of effort has gone to making it look as much as possible like a conventional halogen lamp. The front face really sparkles when you switch it on. If you care about lighting, this is the lamp for you.
Output 413 lm
Power 5.2W
Efficacy 79 lm/W
CCT 2768K
CRI 82
Power factor 0.83
Overall ***** BEST OVERALL: Good quality and great looking
Verbatim 2700K, 6W
The packaging says it is equivalent to a 57W lamp, but certainly the 465 lm output (in a 90-degree cone) means it easily betters a 50W halogen GU10. You can see from the table that the efficacy is one of the best we tested. Cooler lamps would be even more efficient than the 2700K version we tested.
Output 465 lm
Power 5.6W
Efficacy 83 lm/W
CCT 2697K
CRI 82
Power factor 0.66
Overall ****
V-Tac COB Spotlight
Although described as a spotlight, the beam is 110 degrees which could be misleading to the non-specialist – it would light from floor to ceiling if it was 1.5m away. The package claims equivalence to a 50W GU10 but the 90-degree beam lumen figure isn’t on the box, so there is no way of knowing. We measured 423 lm and 5.4W rather than the 450 lm and 6W claimed.
Output 423 lm
Power 5.4W
Efficacy 78 lm/W
CCT 2838K
CRI 81
Power factor 0.55
Overall ** Data could be clearer
Novel Energy Lighting sells a range of LED GU10 brands. Please visit us today to explore the options available, or email: sales@novelenergylighting.com for volume discounts
Ivan Perre is readying the Tube’s lighting for the launch of the Night Tube, and the integration of stations with Crossrail. – Photo: Zarina Holmes
Ivan Perre is an electrical engineer for London Underground working within the integrated stations programme. Lux sat down with Perre to talk LED testing and plans for the future of the Underground.
We need to know how products will perform
I’m involved in a number of areas in lighting for Transport for London (TfL). While I’m an engineer by day, the majority of my work is in verification and testing of LED systems. I’ve researched in the field of photometry and how LED light is measured, and I have subsequently developed methods to more accurately determine LED lux levels. This means that we can have greater confidence in the products we specify but also have a better understanding of how they perform in the field.
We test products really carefully
Any new technology, such as LEDs, is under scrutiny and we have a responsibility to our customers to ensure there is sufficient light.
The optical filters used in lux meters are designed to replicate the responsiveness of the human eye. This is characterised by the spectral responsivity of the lux meter, which is a bell-shaped curve. By using some tracing software, I am able to trace out the graph and convert it into data, which I can then extrapolate to get the values for each wavelength.
Once this is done, I am able to simulate the given light and find out what the lux value would be, and then I can compare it to the ideal lux value.
This process ensures that we can collect accurate and important data, specify the right products for the job, but more importantly deliver a better service to our customers.
We’re thinking outside the tunnel
One of the challenges we face at the moment is implementing feature design more effectively. We are starting to change the way we think about the station environment and in the future, we want to use light in different ways to highlight certain areas, introduce contrasts and create different atmospheres.
This is especially important as we’re looking at potential retail opportunities down the line, which have a number of other prerequisites in terms of lighting designs and outcomes.
“In the future we want to use light in different ways to highlight certain areas, introduce contrasts and create different atmospheres”
The new Night Tube service is a maintenance challenge
The new Night Tube service is a maintenance challenge
One of the main priorities for TfL is to try to reduce maintenance. This is becoming more important with the Night Tube coming up, which is a round-the-clock service on Fridays and Saturdays on the Jubilee, Victoria, and most of the Central, Northern and Piccadilly lines.
This will significantly eat into our engineering hours, and we want to reduce the number of interventions required where lighting is concerned. The longevity of LED lighting is a big factor in assessing the suitability of new fittings, as they don’t need re-commissioning as often.
Stations need a consistent look and feel
One of the most important projects we’re undertaking at the moment is a series of substantial works across a number of stations to create an integrated look and feel between new and existing elements.
We’re working with Crossrail to assimilate the interface zones between services, so there is a consistent feel between the two and not a stark contrast when you leave one service and enter another.
Test schemes make a big difference
We’re lucky to have a number of successful test schemes at TfL to reflect on, which invariably inform new projects. A couple of years ago we implemented the first LED column lighting system on the underground at Wimbledon Park tube station, which was a turning point in upgrading lighting systems as it proved to deliver huge energy and maintenance savings.
Smart controls need to be smarter
One of the things we need at TfL is to be able to change the drivers once they’ve failed without the need to program them. We want the new drivers to operate within the current system as close as possible and when they don’t it’s an issue. When there is only a short hour shift, it’s difficult to go around re-commissioning fittings if there’s a lot to do.
We’re very keen on controls and there are a number of benefits including maintenance, energy and functionality. With a new design idiom being developed for TfL, controls will become an imperative as we’ll need to control individual lights to provide different levels and different intensities.
We’re harnessing the power of procurement
I’m also involved in procurement of lighting technology and innovation in Europe through the Pro-Lite project. The project allows public sector authorities across Europe to team up and pool resources. That way it’s easier to procure innovative technology and consolidate our procurement power to create economies of scale.
The idea is to set technical standards and specifications to create opportunities for improved lighting solutions throughout member states. We have recently released the technical specifications that we’re going to use to go out for tender and we’re also in the process of finalising a whole-life cost model, so we can make like-for-like comparisons of light fittings.
I’m excited about new lighting technologies
I like the idea of using organic LEDs (OLEDs) although I’m not sure how we’d be able to use them in our material compliance. I also like the look of remote phosphor as it sounds like it’ll be a big step up in terms of efficiency.
Visit our main website today to explore LED lighting technologies for your retrofit project.
