Low maintenance long life battery solution
for Education application
Background
Community College Bishops Castle are a proud and successful 11-16 school in South Shropshire, covering a wide geographical area with students from more than twenty primary schools, including Wales.
With multiple buildings hosting 400+ students and teachers, the upkeep and management of the college’s emergency lighting system is paramount to its users’ safety.
The Challenge
The college is part of Shropshire County Council’s network of education establishments, and The Property Services Group (PSG) Shropshire are responsible for the running, maintenance, upgrades, and repairs to the buildings incorporated in the grounds. The emergency lighting system required replacement to ensure that the facilities were compliant, as the incumbent luminaires were failing and were becoming expensive and difficult to manage.
Clevertronics were invited to submit a scheme that would completely update the estate with a sophisticated yet easy-to-use testing and monitoring system. Emergency and exit luminaires that required little to no maintenance was a critical requirement. The existing fittings required maintenance or replacement regularly, which was time-consuming and costly but also difficult to schedule without disrupting the students and teachers. The project had to be delivered within a very tight timeframe when students were on term break.
The Solution & Result
After surveying the site, it was clear to meet the challenges posed by the college, L10 Lithium Nanophosphate luminaires would match the requirements of the college. L10 provides a 12+ year maintenance-free life which is unrivalled in the industry. Also, it delivers an 89% carbon reduction over products using NiCd and NiMh batteries. Clevertronics worked closely with all project partners, producing various options and designs and ensuring that any chosen solution would comply with relevant emergency lighting regulations, including BS5266-1.
The final design proposal of L10 Nanophosphate and Zoneworks XT HIVE testing system achieved the desired requirements outlined earlier. Using Lifelight Pro emergency lighting luminaires also enabled increased spacing between fittings, which reduced the overall luminaires required throughout the site. The Zoneworks XT HIVE system was perfect for the college, with only one controller required to wirelessly mesh all the L10 luminaires across multiple buildings into one system. The XT HIVE system can automatically conduct all monthly and yearly function tests and generate logbooks and compliance reports. This solution exceeded the expectations of the college and was signed off for installation.
This multi-site estate has 380 L10 Nanophosphate emergency and exit fittings that are wirelessly connected to a Zoneworks XT HIVE controller. Clevertronics also includes ongoing support through our complimentary Lifetime Technical Support (LTS) program. This service will assist Community College Bishops Castle & the responsible compliance officer in managing the ongoing health for the system’s life.
Pete Brown (BEng Hons I. Eng MIET), Electrical Engineer at Property Services Group (PSG), commented on installing the new Clevertronics emergency and exit lighting solution. “We used Clevertronics because they provided a guaranteed networked system using the latest luminaire and system technology. This means that we will save maintenance costs as we don’t have to have the system inspected to maintain compliance at the school, thereby reducing the overall lifecycle costs for the project.”
