The Building Research Establishment has over a period of years tried to encourage the greater use of daylight as a means of saving energy on lighting.
The DEM Metron system of high grade photo cell control embodied in their Type CB Lighting control equipment monitors the illumination level on the working plane and is designed for use in factories, warehouses and transport premises.

The system has been used in many such building where there has been good daylight availability through roof glazing of as little as 10%. The installations have usually produced energy savings of 35 – 50% with a payback of the capital cost within 6 months to 2 years.

Trial in Warehouse in Birmingham
The management of this warehouse operated by a major utility company wished to verify the performance of the DEM Metron system and set up a monitoring programme using suitable high grade test equipment over a six month period from lst January to 30th June. The lighting load was 13kW provided by 45-250 watt SON luminaires, daylight was available through 10% roof glazing and working was 9 hours, 5 days per week.

Features of DEM Metron Lighting Control
High grade daylight level monitoring Digital time programming Restricted/self resetting override facilities to prevent overrides being left on indefinitely. Maintenance features which allow lights to be switched on manually during good daylight for testing lamps and for making adjustments to control settings without distracting staff. Front panel indication of status of daylight level control, time programme and overrides. Complete lighting management unit with fully rated multiple circuit outputs in heavy duff enclosure for direct installation in industrial environments at minimal cost. A full report on the Birmingham warehouse trial and other case studies are ayailable on request.

Lighting controls at Padgate High School achieve savings of £3,500pa and a payback time of 18 months

Following a recommendation from Warrington Borough Council’s Energy Manager, Padgate High School have installed a DEM Reset 3000 lighting control system. Grant aid of £4000 was provided via the Energy Saving Trust CREATE agency towards a total capital outlay of £10,000, with a payback of the school’s contribution being achieved in just 18 months.

Reset System 3000

The project has been managed by a senior teacher at the school, who selected the well proven System 3000 for its combination of low capital cost, ease of installation and simple user interface. The system is ideal for school applications because of the clearly defined timetable of events  – the system controller is programmed to switch lights OFF at the end of each teaching period, however lighting may be manually restored AT ANY TIME via the existing wall switches.

Daylight level inhibit may be programmed to override automatic switch off commands when ambient light levels are insufficient.

Simple Installation

Selected luminaries in each classroom are fitted with reset relays to allow manual resetting of lights, if required, once an automatic switch off command has occurred. At the lighting distribution board, controlled circuits are diverted via a programmable relay panel. At pre-determined times the relays receive a momentary interrupt pulse from the system controller to switch off the lighting.

Reference

If you would like details of a reference from Padgate High School or would like more information on how our lighting control systems can save you money on your energy bills contact us on 01606 551213 or email enquiries@demmetron.co.uk

London Borough of Croydon has over 200 electrically heated mobile classrooms, however an absence of suitable controls has resulted in high running costs and uncomfortable overheating. Prior to trials using the DEM TC2000 System, several other methods of reducing electricity consumption had been investigated. Although gas heaters had been used previously, their high capital and maintenance costs together with their susceptibility to vandalism proved this approach to be unsuitable.

Better insulation but could not be justified on fuel savings alone whilst attempts to make existing convectors more efficient by using an electronic thermostat were abandoned due to noise and reliability problems associated with the mechanical contactors.

TC2000 Pilot Scheme

A pilot scheme using the DEM System was undertaken in two classrooms with identical orientation and occupation times.  One classroom was equipped with the TC2000 whilst the second remained uncontrolled. The TC2000 utilises a method of proportional control technology to constantly modulate the heaters output thus maintaining the selected temperature within close limits.

Solid state triac switching components are employed to ensure silent operation and long maintenance free life. A frost protect feature ensures that buildings are protected during unoccupied periods.

Energy Savings of 39%

Savings of 39% were recorded in the ‘controlled’ classroom resulting a projected payback of 2.6 years. Further benefits included improved comfort and lower maintenance due to reduced thermal stresses. It was observed that heater casings did not get as hot as before and therefore were less hazardous to small children.

Major Installation Program

London Borough of Croydon have demonstrated that on-peak electric heating can be make competitive in this type of building and as a result have initiated a major programme of equipping a large percentage of their mobile classrooms with the TC2000 System.

More Information

For more information on how the DEM TC2000 System can save you money on your energy bills contact us on 01606 551213 or email enquiries@demmetron.co.uk

The DEM Reset 3000 is a low cost energy saving lighting control system developed specifically for schools, offices and industrial premises. The system operates by automatically switching OFF lights at the end of each teaching session, work period or at any user specified time whilst allowing manual restoration AT ALL TIMES via existing wall switches.

Installation and operation are simple with no specialist knowledge or training required. The Reset System 3000 is a proven energy saver whose wide user acceptance has resulted in many successful installations.

How Does the System Work?

Selected luminaries in each classroom are fitted with reset relays to enable the manual restoration of lighting, if required, once an automatic switch off command has occurred. Circuits are diverted at the lighting distribution board via contactor interruption panels. At pre-set times the contactors receive  an interrupt pulse from the system controller to switch off the lights.

Automatic Off

The System 3000 controller is programmed to generate a switch off command at the end of each lesson, work period or other defined time frame.

Automatic On

Lighting can be restored AT ANY TIME by resetting the existing wall switches from ‘ON’ to ‘OFF’ and back to the ‘ON’ position. Manual switching in the normal manner is unaffected by the automatic control programme.

For more information on how how System 3000 can save money on your energy bills contact us on 01606 551213