Voxnadalens Gymnasium
Sweden
Voxnadalens Gymnasium shines with energy-efficient lighting upgrade
In 2022, Voxnadalens Gymnasium in Edsbyn, Sweden, faced the challenge of updating its lighting system due to the impending phase-out of fluorescent lighting. While updating, the school also sought to reduce energy consumption significantly. Helvar’s ActiveAhead, integrated into luminaires from Aura Light, emerged as the ideal solution.
Key Challenges and Benefits
The school’s building presented a few challenges for a new lighting system. Constructed in 1998, the cabling would need to be replaced, implying higher costs for the project in both labour and material. The project also asked for a scalable and adaptable system to future-proof the lighting system.
Helvar’s ActiveAhead system, integrated in luminaires from Aura Light, offered a comprehensive solution. Classrooms, group rooms, and teacher’s lounges were fitted with luminaires with sensors and nodes (5630 and 5652) (together with wireless control panels 185W) for easy control of different parts of the rooms.
Luminaires with only the node were installed in corridors, while separate sensors (5640) were used for complete space coverage. For the well-being of the students and teachers and to create a feeling of safety, the corridor hold function was programmed to keep the light on while detecting presence in the classrooms.
The system’s adaptability and flexibility allowed for easy adjustment to lighting scenes, and being able to set lighting scenes via the Helvar ActiveAhead app made programming the system an easy task.
Since the solution operates via Bluetooth mesh, and the only wiring required was to power the luminaires, this mitigated the need for extensive cabling and minimised potential disruption to the school’s operations and the student’s education.
ActiveAhead enabled luminaires also proved to be useful in spaces where a traditional DALI-sensor solution wouldn’t be viable, such as areas with lower ceilings.
“The biggest advantage with ActiveAhead is that we didn’t need to change all the cables in the building and that the system is completely scalable and stand-alone,” says Joel Lind, Electrical technician at Alfta-Edsbyn Fastighets AB.
Energy Savings
The transition to the Helvar/Aura Light system resulted in substantial energy savings. By changing the old fluorescent lighting and adding modern LED luminaires paired with intelligent Helvar controls, the school achieved a 25% reduction in overall energy usage compared to previous years.
Voxnadalens Gymnasium successfully addressed its lighting needs and energy efficiency goals by implementing Helvar’s ActiveAhead system. The project demonstrated the system’s effectiveness in providing a flexible, scalable, and energy-saving solution, even in challenging environments. As the school continues to utilize the system, it can expect further energy savings and improved overall efficiency.
Sweden
