Energy Efficient Lighting

TAG | school led

Oct/16

14

School installs experimental lighting to improve grades

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An experimental human centric lighting scheme has been installed at Lindeborgskolan school in Malmo, Sweden, aimed at improving pupil performance.

The human centric system replaced a fluorescent lighting scheme, a change which pupils claim has improved their concentration, making them feel more alert throughout the school day.

The automatically changing light variation includes a period of intense rather blue light in the morning, to wake the pupils up, and a warmer light during other parts of the day.

Teachers are able to change the colour intensity of the lighting to create a calming or a stimulating atmosphere when necessary. The human centric scheme has also eradicated flicker.

The new lighting was funded by the Department of Internal Services in the hope of bringing Swedish schools firmly into the twenty first century.

You can find out more about the Malmo project by watching the video above. You can also learn more about the debate surrounding human centric lighting by reading our article: Are we experimenting on school children?

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Apr/16

5

Lighting for Education Sector

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Education is no longer about teaching; it is about creating a stimulating learning environment. Or to put it another way the quantity of information given out by a teacher is less important than the amount of information taken in by a student. This shift in emphasis has impacted the design of education buildings. Previously they were designed around the needs of the teacher whereas they are increasingly designed around the needs of the student. This requires more flexible spaces suitable for formal teacher led sessions and also for less formal group discussions and breakout sessions.

Building design has also developed as the importance of daylight to learning rates and attendance levels has begun to be understood. Therefore modern learning spaces tend to receive significant levels of daylight which in turn leads to significant energy savings in well-designed lighting installations.

Best practice

The European Standard EN 12464-1:2011 Light and lighting – Lighting of work places Part 1: Indoor work places provides recommended lighting levels for academic buildings. However whilst important these recommendations address only a part of the lighting requirements. Education is a communication centred discipline and lighting of people so they appear friendly and so that body language is readily visible is important, as is facilitating the use of all presentation materials and formats. EN 12464-1:2011 also provides recommendations for cylindrical illuminance to ensure good lighting of verticals, 150lx at 1.2m height. It discusses the modelling index, the ratio between the horizontal and vertical flow of light, to provide the correct balance between light and shade. It also highlights the importance of lighting room surfaces to make a space feel light and airy and prevent a sensation of gloom, recommending an average illuminance of 75lx on the walls and 50lx on the ceiling.

 

Education should always be centred on the needs of people and care should be taken not to design spaces for technology at the expense of comfort. However in some areas of high DSE use care should be taken to take account of the effect of lighting on screens. Recommendations for lighting for DSE are provided in the European Standard EN 12464-1:2011 Light and lighting – Lighting of work places Part 1: Indoor work places. However these criteria are for general computer technology and if plasma screen technology is used tighter control of luminaire brightness should be considered. Ideally the balance between lighting for people and lighting for technology should be achieved by intelligent use of lighting controls and scene setting to allow lighting to be adjusted to the needs of the moment.

 

Taking control

Supplying comfortable and effective light is not the same as supplying controlled and energy-efficient light. A lighting system should interact with the space, dimming in response to increasing levels of daylight, turning on or off in response to occupancy within the space, and with increasing use of technology and the need for flexibility of learning styles allow lighting scenes to be set to provide the optimal conditions for the needs of the task at hand. Lighting should be an integral part of the space ambience, giving a calm or lively atmosphere dependant upon the needs of the subject, providing an inspiring and stimulating environment for students and staff.

Visit www.novelenergylighting.com to explore LED lighting retrofit options for your school or university project. Please call us to discuss options or arrange for light designs: tel. 0208-540-8287, email: sales@novelenergylighting.com

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Jul/15

28

UK beefs up interest-free loans for lighting and energy projects at schools

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Parrs for the course: Parrs Wood HIgh School has demonstrated significant energy savings from Salix funding. Other schools now stand to gain even more under an enhanced programme.
Lux reports: The UK government entity that provides free loans for green projects has broadened its support for schools, offering an all-in-one programme that funds not just the equipment and installation, but also everything from an initial energy evaluation through training students and teachers how best to conserve energy.
The initiative, from Salix, covers a wide scope of energy-related technologies including LED lighting, computer cooling equipment, hand dryers, boiler replacement and insulation.
Salix will spread £2 million across 40 schools in three tranches. It has already selected the first 13 and hopes to select the next two groups after the summer holidays, a Salix spokesperson told Lux.
‘We are looking for a wide variety of schools including building type and age, geographical location and a mixture of primary, secondary and special schools to ensure the sample is a strong variety,’ the spokesperson said.
The money in this case comes from UK Department for Education. Salix is backed by DfE as well by the Department of Energy and Climate Change, the Higher Education Funding Council for England, the Scottish Government and the Welsh Government.
Salix will require a typical payback period of eight years for the interest-free loans to the schools, although it might lengthen that period in some cases, ‘to ensure a school can implement all technologies identified in order bring them down to best practice and make them an exemplary school in terms of energy use,’ the spokesperson said.
Salix has funded schools’ capital costs previously, but the new programme adds the energy survey and ‘human behaviour’ training for energy reduction. It also includes ‘a document which advises what order to make improvements and to procure against,’ and ‘a financial model to show how to meet the costs.’
Under the former, less comprehensive funding scheme, Parrs Wood High School, a technology college in Manchester, used Salix to fund £10,600 in lighting upgrades and £63,700 on ‘building energy management systems’ (BEMS), leading to 45 per cent savings in lighting, and to 20 per cent and 7 per cent savings on gas and electricity related to the BEMS.
Salix had previously lent Parrs Wood £49,120 for an initial lighting upgrade, leading to annual savings of £13,863.
‘The Salix zero per cent interest loan was the most cost effective way for us to make long term savings and reduce our carbon footprint,’ said Parrs Wood head teacher Andrew Shakos.
Another government entity, the Green Investment Bank, lends money for green projects at commercial interest rates typically allows much longer payback periods. Its streetlighting programme can extend payments to as long as 30 years.
In a controversial move, the government recently said it plans to sell what could be a majority share in GIB.
Please contact Novel Energy Lighting for your school lighting retrofit: Te: 0208-540-8287, Email:sales@novelenergylighting.com

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