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High Quality Low Energy Office Lighting A Report on an Integrated Approach to Lighting Offices in Sheffield.
Adrian Hallam RIBA
Pelk Ltd, 29 Sale Hill, Sheffield S10 5BX, UK
Abstract
Completed in September 1996, the headquarter offices for a corporate manufacturing company are an attempt to show that a conscious and integrated approach to the design of a building can achieve a low energy office within a speculative budget whilst improving performance quality. The lighting solution was an integral component of design, influencing and being influenced by other design criteria, such as: structural design to achieve high thermal mass; mechanical design to optimise window openings for heat loss against solar gain; and architectural design to balance daylight with artificial lighting requirements and allow for an innovative 'hybrid' office layout, mixing periphery glazed offices with areas of open plan in a 15m depth plan.
70W metal halide floor-mounted uplighter mirrored downlighters have previously been installed offices in Helsinki in 1989, and a further model in offices in Stockholm in 1996. The installation of a double-mirrored version at offices in Sheffield in 1996 is the first attempt to fully integrate the use of this type of light into a co-ordinated 'low energy' design. In this way the design of the lighting environment, integrating both artificial and daylighting, was both a response to the building as well as being an influence on its form. The lighting proposal utilized low energy compact fluorescent fittings for all common areas, such as, toilets, business centres and communications space. The main reception area is lit by one 1000w microwave sulphur fitting which uses the purpose-shaped ceiling as a reflector; the first use of this technology in the UK.
However, the most significant contributor to energy efficiency was the approach to the light environment of general office areas. Office work areas were lit only with 70w metal halide floor-mounted double-mirror uplighter/ downlighters which were moveable, and plugged into floor boxes. Each member of staff has been issued with their own personal light which they are encouraged to place, adjust and turn on and off as they please. This is in line with the philosophy that openable windows and individually placed air supply points will give occupants greater individual control over their environment. Individually operable lights were also considered important in combating reflections on computer screens whilst mirrors and lights allow for reasonable background levels of luminance.
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