Education Business

The speed at which new lighting technology is adopted will be largely dependent on recognising the need to invest in the whole life cost of an installation rather than just choosing the cheapest offer.
    
At the moment there is a most fortuitous match between the market needs and the innovations coming from the lighting world. On the one hand there is a renewed demand (or market driver) for more efficient lighting and on the other the development of both solid state lighting (LEDs) and longer life products. The challenge, despite this happy coincidence, is to convey correctly which lighting development is the best present solution in each application. Unfortunately, there is a lot of misleading information being presented to the market sometimes making it difficult to distinguish the hyperbole from the truth.

Calculating cost
Ultimately the objective of any lighting design in an education building is to provide the highest possible quality of illumination while ensuring the cost of ownership is minimised. The whole life cost of a lighting installation is calculated from the following key elements:

• The original cost of purchase and installation – the capital investment.
• The cost of the electricity it consumes when it is used – part of the running costs.
• The cost of maintenance in terms of both material and labour – another running cost, sometimes the most significant.
• The disposal cost at end of life – both in terms of lamps etc. and the final replacement of the system.    
  

Running costs can be a serious drain on resources if the wrong choices are made at the time of purchase. As an illustration, take a lighting installation that is expected to be in place for 20 years. If it is not controlled properly and lower cost components are selected then something as straightforward as a twin lamp, 1,500mm fluorescent luminaire might cost some £550 (ignoring the affects of any inflation) in electricity and maintenance over this period. Selecting HF gear, long life lamps and effective controls could more than halve this cost – and possibly extend the system life by up to five years.

Extended life-span
The lighting innovations that will help to realise lower ownership costs are those that reliably deliver both lower energy consumption and longer life. Starting with the light source it is LEDs that are attracting the most publicity with claims regarding life and efficiency that need to be put into perspective. Yes, an LED is much more efficient than an incandescent lamp but commercially available solutions are not yet competing with either fluorescent or metal halide if you want efficient, high quality white light.
    
Where an LED does score, however, is its life, which should be in the order of 50,000 hours when equipped with the correct heat management; if this is not done properly then its life is seriously curtailed. Another plus point for LED lighting is the fact that frequent switching does not affect its life – something which always needs to be balanced when considering the control of more conventional light sources.
    
Controlling lighting has been the most effective method of reducing running costs for over 25 years. Control systems ensure that lights are only on when they are needed and there are people present; this limits the use of the lighting so that the installed lamp life is extended and electricity costs are reduced. Of course one of the most effective ways of reducing the use of lighting – particularly in education buildings – is to make sure the maximum use is made of daylight. There is no better quality light than that which nature provides and it is, after all, free! Past design guides for classrooms used to require a minimum daylight factor of 1.5 per cent, which meant that the lights could often be turned off for much of the day.
    
Choice
The choice of controls available today varies from the simplicity of a simple movement detector, like Occuswitch, to the all embracing networked systems, like LightMaster Modular, that can not only control the lighting in an interactive manner but also provide helpful monitoring facilities for the building manager. Between these lie solutions like Actilume, which can provide both dimming and switching control to a classroom using an in luminaire solution that can be overridden by staff and pupils alike. Actilume offers occupancy detection and daylight linked operation to simply match lighting to the ambient conditions when the room is in use. This solution is most attractive when considering a relighting project because it is easily incorporated in a ‘one down, one up’ replacement with just a small amount of additional wiring.
    
In fact, as LED technology advances, and there will be some exciting new downlights based on the Fortimo LED engine coming to the market very soon, the use of controls will become even more effective. This is related to both the fact that the switching cycles will no longer be an issue, and the potential for creating lighting systems that are completely integrated – i.e. it is the nature of the LED as a component within an electronic circuit that leads to this possibility.
    
In conclusion, and echoing the earlier thoughts expressed in an earlier edition of this magazine, we very much need to recognise the importance of lighting in an education establishment; after all 80 per cent of our sensory input comes through our eyes when we are working or learning. This is the first priority addressed by the lighting industry and it is fortunate that virtually all the recent innovations in lighting, introduced for this purpose, are also more efficient than the previous solutions. A true harmony of purpose – better light with lower running costs. But only when you are prepared to invest in the best that the lighting industry can offer!