Methodist College Belfast trusts Integral LED for extensive lighting modernisation project
The 155 year old grammar school with an outstanding reputation for academic excellence went through an overhaul of its lighting configuration in 2021 and exclusively sourced Integral LED products to replace over 1550 fittings, largely improving its efficiency both financially and environmentally.
The school
Methodist College Belfast, or Methody as the school is affectionately known, is situated on the South side of Belfast opposite Queen’s University and the city’s Botanic Gardens.
The College comprises a grammar school of 1810 pupils aged 11 to 18 and a Pre-school and Preparatory Department that provides an excellent educational experience for over 300 pupils.
Fullerton House Pre-School and Prep are situated at the Lisburn Road end of the main campus. Downey House is located in the picturesque setting of Pirrie Park, surrounded by the College’s extensive playing fields.
When Methody first opened on the 18th August 1868, it was reported as being “a most important step in the progress of education in Ireland.” In the intervening century and a half, the College has grown, expanded, adapted, innovated and flourished. Today it is a school renowned for the opportunities it provides for its pupils, the diversity of its community and the excellence of the all-round education that it provides.
Challenges and objectives
With a strong focus on environmental issues, over the recent years, the school has embarked on a journey to become as carbon efficient as possible. In that context, a range of decisions were made, such as sourcing electricity from renewable energy sources and installing solar panels. The obvious next step was to look at the school energy usage and particularly in regards to lighting, since the school is open nearly all year long, from 6.30AM until 10PM, 7 days a week. Diana Boyd, Facility Manager in charge of the project, expected the renovation project to minimise carbon emissions, and anticipated that the initiative would pay for itself very quickly by greatly reducing the school’s electricity bill.
In addition to these considerations, the renovation project would give the chance to improve the comfort of all school attendees. The site is very diverse, with ceilings of varying heights and interconnected rooms with different configurations, making lighting considerations challenging. Having the right lumen output, and strong quality and consistency of light are indeed important factors to allow for optimal learning conditions. Aesthetics play a role too, beautiful and discreet fittings can truly enhance the appearance of a room.
The project
Energy Management Ireland Ltd is an independent and Irish owned company. Thanks to years of experience and a solid reputation in his field, its director, Paul Johnston, was introduced to the school through a recommendation.
Paul’s company assists businesses reduce their energy costs by utilising a wide range of methods.They specialise in complete LED lighting retrofit projects with a keen emphasis on correct specifications for the requirements in that environment, as well as the aesthetics on show across a wide variety of industries.
Paul initially surveyed the site on his own and later on with his business partner Gerald McQuillan & the school janitor to get a full understanding of the school’s configuration and requirements. Overall, about 70% of the fittings needed replacement. A sizable proportion of those fixtures were linear battens, downlights and bulkheads, and some high bays and panels were also required.
Paul is a strong advocate of Integral LED products, which he praises for their irreproachable quality and efficiency. Selecting the brand’s products exclusively for the whole project was natural.
“Integral LED products were an easy choice for this project. The efficacy levels are at the forefront within the lighting industry. We have a very good relationship built up over the years and they have the backup with a 5-year warranty. The wide variety of options throughout their range covered all aspects we needed for the overall project” - Paul Johnston, Energy Management Ireland Ltd
Paul Johnston’s product recommendations were validated by Diana Boyd and the project delivery began.
It was divided into 4 stages with the initial phase carried out at the beginning of 2021. Due to the lockdown caused by the pandemic, students were not physically attending classes during this period. This allowed for Gerald, Paul and their team to take care of fittings with awkward accesses where scaffolding was often required.
The bulk of the work had been delivered by the end of summer and some additional work, including standalone emergency fittings upgrades, was carried out in October 2021. Overall, a total of 1572 Integral LED fittings have been installed, 1507 for internal and 65 for external use.
For the selection of products, Paul Johnston reached out to Paul Howie at T&E Howie ltd who distributes Integral-LED products in Northern Ireland and with whom he has a long standing working relationship - “We have a similar mindset when it comes to customer satisfaction with his impeccable standards, and his decades of experience in the lighting industry have proven helpful once more on this project”.
The collaboration between all parties went very smoothly. The opportunity was given by Integral-LED to reserve the entire quantity of fixtures and fittings at the very start. Then, as and when Paul needed stock delivered, all he had to do was to give Sarah O'Sullivan at Integral-LED a few days' notice, and Paul praised Integral-LED staff for their support and reactivity.
“I have had the pleasure once again to work & communicate closely with Integral LED staff. Carl Davey (Sales Manager) has been and continues to be an exceptionally helpful individual for my company. His guidance and industry know-how are invaluable for my business and we continue to work closely on new products within Integral’s range. (...) Sarah O’Sullivan was always on hand with orders and stock level requests, the project ran really smoothly with deliveries thanks to Sarah.” - Paul Johnston, Energy Management Ireland Ltd
Over 100 different Integral LED product references were used for the project, and the most prevalent parts included:
Corridors
TOUGH SHELL+ BULKHEAD EMERGENCY 3HR AND MICROWAVE SENSOR 350MM DIA IP66 2400LM 24W 4000K IK10 120 BEAM NON-DIMM WHITE 100LM/W INTEGRAL
Part Number:
ILBHA040
- Product Feature 1:
- Side and rear cable entries
- Product Feature 2:
- Tough casing (IK10)
- Product Feature 3:
- 2400 Lumen (Emergency 220 Lumens)
- Product Feature 4:
- High efficiency 100lm per watt
- Product Feature 5:
- Integrated 3hr emergency and microwave sensor function
Whitla Main Hall and classrooms
LIGHTSPAN T8 BATTEN 5FT TWIN STANDARD 7800LM 60W 130LM/W 4000K 120 BEAM 1470MM LINKABLE NON-DIMM INTEGRAL
Part Number:
ILBTC053
- Product Feature 1:
- 7800lm
- Product Feature 2:
- Class I
- Product Feature 3:
- 130lm/W
- Product Feature 4:
- 3 Year warranty
Changing Rooms
MULTI-FIT EDGE SENSOR DOWNLIGHT 65-205MM CUTOUT 950LM 10W - 1300lm 15W -1500lm 18W 4000K NON-DIMM 83LM/W WHITE
Part Number:
ILDL205-65M002
- Product Feature 1:
- PIR Motion Sensor
- Product Feature 2:
- Wattage (Light Output) Variable
- Product Feature 3:
- Adjustable cut-out 65-205mm
- Product Feature 4:
- Surface mountable
- Product Feature 5:
- Frosted polycarbonate (TPb) diffuser
Offices
COMPACT HIGH PERFORMANCE+ PANEL 600X600 IP44 3500LM 23W 4000K NON-DIMM 152LM/W BACKLIT INTEGRAL
Part Number:
ILP6060B029
- Product Feature 1:
- Cool White
- Product Feature 2:
- 3500 Lumens
- Product Feature 3:
- Market-leading 152lm/W
- Product Feature 4:
- TP(a) rated Polycarbonate diffuser
- Product Feature 5:
- 5 Year Warranty
- Product Feature 6:
- Awarded 4 Stars Recommended by Lux Review
Outside
OUTDOOR WALL PACK COMPACT LIGHT SENSOR IP65 3150LM 30W 4000K 115 BEAM BLACK INTEGRAL
Part Number:
ILWPA001
- Product Feature 1:
- Light sensor for increased efficiency
- Product Feature 2:
- Stylish and contemporary design
- Product Feature 3:
- Hard-wearing and weatherproof
- Product Feature 4:
- Cast-aluminium body
6th Form Centre Outside
OUTDOOR WALL PACK ADJUSTABLE LIGHT SENSOR IP65 10000LM 80W 4000K 120 BEAM BLACK INTEGRAL
Part Number:
ILWPC003
- Product Feature 1:
- Light sensor for increased efficiency
- Product Feature 2:
- 0-90 degree adjustable head
- Product Feature 3:
- Stylish and contemporary design
- Product Feature 4:
- Hard-wearing and weatherproof
- Product Feature 5:
- Cast-aluminium body
Sports Hall
SLIMLINE LINEAR HIGH BAY IP65 23400LM 180W 5000K 130LM/W 120 BEAM DIMMABLE INTEGRAL
Part Number:
ILHBL213
- Product Feature 1:
- 23400lm
- Product Feature 2:
- 5000K
- Product Feature 3:
- 130lm/W
- Product Feature 4:
- Class I
- Product Feature 5:
- 5 Year Warranty
Result
Diana Boyd and the school staff and students were very pleased with the end result. The work delivered by Energy Management Ireland Ltd was faultless and the lighting was greatly improved. Lights levels are now adequate and consistent throughout the site and the fixtures' modern and discreet appearances are appreciated.
“The lighting within the classrooms and learning spaces has dramatically improved, and is consistent across the whole campus. (...) now we have a standard light level which meets the needs of those using the buildings and for the tasks they are required to do. (...) The new lights are slimmer in design, and more discreet but yet have provided more light levels than the previous larger fittings.” - Diana Boyd, Methodist School Belfast
The built-in sensor feature is particularly valued by the school’s employees. Staff do not need to walk down numerous corridors to switch lights on and off anymore. This saves time and also reduces further the energy consumption: depending on the level of sunlight, adjustable sensors allow for the lamps to only be in use when required.
The project will deliver the anticipated reduction in energy cost and carbon emissions, pushing the school’s achievement in environmental responsibility even further.
Integral LED fittings will reduce the school’s annual energy consumption (Kwh) by over 68%, allowing a pay back period for the project of only 2.7 years.
What’s next?
The school’s board has been very impressed with the service provided by Energy Management Ireland Ltd and by the quality of Integral-LED products. They have since asked Paul Johnston to look at LED lighting upgrades at their 2 primary schools and for their hockey and rugby pitches. At Integral-LED we’re looking forward to assisting with this exciting project and to many more collaborations with Energy Management Ireland Ltd!
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