Emergency lighting system upgrade
for heritage building application
Background
Located in the heart of Sydney, St. Mary’s Cathedral is a prominent and historic Catholic church, renowned for its striking Gothic architecture.
The cathedral is known for its impressive sandstone facade, intricate stained glass windows, and beautifully carved interiors. It has played a significant role in the religious and cultural life of Sydney, hosting various events, concerts, and public ceremonies.
St. Mary’s Cathedral is a major tourist attraction and attracts a significant amount of foot traffic with close to 300,000 tourists every year. This high level of activity means any maintenance required to the emergency lighting system could result in significant disruption to the cathedral’s operations.
In 2024, Clevertronics were approached by the contractor to offer a solution other than the SPU testing which was currently inplace thoughtout the catherdral. The unique nature of the church, with various intricate staircases and high foot traffic, meant a simplified and self monitored testing system was required.
The Challenge
The distinctive characteristics of the cathedral presented multiple challenges, primarily due to the high costs and difficulties associated with testing. Emergency lighting, a crucial life safety device, is legally required to be tested every six months. Consequently, St. Mary’s Cathedral faced escalating costs and a non-compliant system. If one of the lights failed, a large portion of the cathedral would be plunged into darkness, compromising the safety of the numerous visitors and posing a significant liability risk for the building manager.
The Solution & Result
Clevertronics was able to provide an ideal solution for the unique challenges faced by the Cathedral. Through the use of intricate drawings and expertise from both Clevertronics and Sydney Electrical & Data, the ideal product solutions were able to be installed in the cathedral.
The Clevertronics L10 Lithium Nanophosphate range of exit and emergency lights offers the longest service life and lowest total ownership costs compared to any other range on the market.
As such, it made the perfect solution for St Mary’s Cathedral and Sydney Electrical & Data Pty Ltd, who were seeking a durable solution with low energy costs and a long-term warranty.
In addition to The L10 fittings, a seamless testing and monitoring system was also needed to facilitate the cathedral’s rigorous demands. Accordingly, Zoneworks XT Hive, the world’s most advanced emergency lighting testing system, was selected. This allowed all the fittings at the cathedral to be monitored and tested remotely using one single RF controller, reducing the need to run any cables between each fitting.
Moreover, the Dynamic Self-Managed Meshing (DSM) network used in Zoneworks XT Hive emerged as a cornerstone in the project’s success story. This advanced network infrastructure facilitated seamless connectivity and significantly reduced the time and resources required for commissioning and ongoing system management.
It is important to provide options that help maintain the desired look and feel in heritage and architecture projects. In this project, the Jumbo Theatre 40m exits were the ideal choice, and a remote Supalite head was used and hidden from public view.
In addition to providing the emergency lighting solution, Clevertronics was also able to offer free comprehensive ongoing support through the Lifetime Technical Support (LTS) program. In doing so, St Mary’s Cathedral now has peace of mind that they have ongoing support for all their emergency and exit lighting needs.
To date, all fittings have passed the compliance test. Furthermore, substantial cost savings have been realised, thanks to the streamlined testing process conducted from a centralised location, minimising disruptions to the site during off-peak hours.
As articulated in the client’s initial project brief, the implemented system has surpassed expectations through its ‘‘easy installation, easy commissioning, and reliable system.’
Products used
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Supalite Flood
Jumbo
Lifelight Corridor Lens
Lifelight Surface Mount Warehouse Lens
