Energy saving luminaires, from Ansell Lighting’s extensive Solutions 5 product portfolio, have been featured within a major refurbishment project at Cranbrook School in Kent. These fittings include the Recessed Modular Uni exposed T System luminaires and Galaxy PL Downlights, which provide the school with high quality and energy efficient solutions.
This co-educational grammar school is able to trace its routes back to 1518 when John Blubery bequeathed his ‘chief mansion place in Cranbrooke’ to found the school. Later in 1574, Queen Elizabeth 1 granted the school its Royal Charter when it began its life as ‘The Free Grammar School of Queen Elizabeth in Cranbrook’. 500 years later the school still occupies the same site, but has now expanded to encompass some seventy acres of buildings, gardens and playing fields all of which are used in the provision of the highest standards of education for its students
In order to bring the building up to modern standards, the school has undertaken a major refurbishment programme which has been carried out by refurbishment specialists ESL Projects of Gillingham in Kent.
Brian King of ESL Projects said: “We have undertaken the complete refurbishment of each of the designated areas which has included rewiring, installing new ceilings, luminaires and flooring, along with a complete redecoration. Ansell’s luminaires have been chosen for their high specification, energy efficiencies and low environmental impact. Their fittings have been featured within the classrooms, changing rooms, toilets, shower cubicles and along the access corridors.”
The Recessed Modular Cat 2 VDT Louvre luminaires featured T8 Tri- Phosphor tubes which in recent years have been considerably improved in order to enhance key performance characteristics including light output, efficacy, rated life, maintained light output and colour. As a result, these linear shaped lamps have proved ideal for these types of educational applications. They not only produce more light output, due to their greater efficiency, but also provide a cool white light which is ideal for the close study work undertaken in the classrooms and for other general use where high visibility is required.
Tony Bailey, the school’s Estates Manager said: “As these new luminaires have done away with traditional fluorescent tubes, they have made a fantastic improvement to the look and feel of the refurbished rooms. Not only are they more energy efficient, but also have less effect on the environment as they offer longer product life, which reduces our maintenance requirements, and are smaller and therefore much easier to dispose of.”
To further increase energy efficiencies these luminaires have incorporated low loss Switchstart Control Gear with High Frequency as standard items. The constant voltage controlled high frequency electronic ballast has enhanced the performance of the lamps, providing energy savings and greatly extending lamp life. It not only provides flicker-free operation, but has also overcome the issue of buzzing tubes, which had been a problem with the original light fittings, as the teachers had found this noise extremely annoying and distracting during lessons.
To satisfy regulation demands these fittings have also been supplied in High Frequency Maintained versions to ensure that there is effective escape lighting in the event of an emergency.
To provide long lamp life, good colour rendering and energy efficiency within the bathrooms and changing rooms Ansell’s Galaxy compact fluorescent recessed downlights have been featured. These attractive luminaires, with their bevel edge design, have incorporated high frequency control gear to maximise energy efficiencies. As they are located within the public areas, these fittings have been installed with IP44 polycarbonate covers to avoid the risk to public safety in the event of a lamp blowing.
