As part of its redevelopment plan, Coventry University has constructed a new Faculty of Engineering and Computing building. The building uses a range of ‘green’ technologies, including an advanced lighting management system from Delmatic.
As well as providing a new, low carbon home for the Faculty the building is designed to help teach students about the techniques of sustainable building by example. It uses a range of technologies such as rainwater harvesting and solar & biomass heating, along with high efficiency lighting backed by sophisticated, responsive controls.
Most of the lighting throughout the five-storey building uses T5 fluorescent light sources in luminaires which exceed an 85% light output ratio. This inherent efficiency is further refined by the use of a Delmatic system using a combination of DALI and switched lighting control linked to a full graphical central PC. Monitoring and testing of emergency lighting is also managed through the DALI system.
Offices, teaching and meeting areas use DALI addressable luminaires with daylight control combined with both presence and absence detection. Classrooms are equipped with local switching via standard switches or 10-button scene setting switches, some of which also control window blinds. All other areas are circuit-switched via either 12-way or 4-way hard-wired circuits.
The new Faculty building seeks to create a fresh approach to organising spaces so that they support new ways of learning and create a ‘community of learners’. The lighting will clearly play a key role in achieving a supportive environment and the Delmatic system will help to ensure it does so with minimum energy consumption.