Intelligent lighting for high flyers

To help create and control the ambiance of CitySuites, CP Electronics has supplied its D-Mate room control system to the communal areas of the building, including the reception, gym and pool. Corridors that link the apartments also have standalone energy saving controls installed, using CP’s presence detectors.

A key reason that AMEON, the principal building contractors, specified the use of CP’s D-Mate system in CitySuites was for its simple and cost-effective scene setting capability. The system controls the lighting for the gym on the first floor, the pool and the reception, and each area can be controlled straight from reception through four different pre-configured ‘scenes’.

PIR (Passive Infrared) sensors are installed in all the communal areas and linked to the lighting control system. For the pool and gym, which are not always in use, these sensors switch the lights on when presence is detected, and automatically dim to a minimum lux level or switch off if the area is not occupied.

Matthew Liffen, Commercial Manager for AMEON, said: “CP Electronics demonstrated an understanding of the luxury feel we were going for with CitySuites immediately with the suggestion of their D-Mate® system. The scene setting plate in the reception allows reception staff to easily control the lighting and mood, while it was simple to commission, adaptable, and helps CitySuites save energy and cost when areas aren’t in use.

“This is particularly the case with the gym, which has been split into two halves. If guests aren’t using one half of the gym, then the lights stay off. The service from CP was excellent, while their attention to detail during the design of the apartments was faultless.”

The reception area is also set with four different scene settings and can be controlled through a scene setting plate, which can be re-programmed if required. The lighting controls ensure lights remain off when there is enough natural light, while the lights will be subdued at night, and the PIRs communicate to the master control system via DALI (Digital Addressable Lighting Interface).

CitySuites is keen to be sustainable while still offering the quality they are striving for. To that end, corridors that link the building and apartments have all been installed with standalone long-range microwave detectors.

These detectors are set to presence detection mode and work via motion sensors. The long-range microwaves pick up movement and switch the lights on when motion is detected and turn the lights off again when there is no movement.

With long corridors, CP Electronics has specified microwave detectors that can sense movement up to 25 to 30m away from where the detector is installed. This means only one detector is needed per corridor and capital expenditure on detectors is reduced, while maintenance is also decreased in the long term.

Nick Booth, Area Sales Manager for CP Electronics, stated: “Even though CitySuites’ main clientele will be executive guests, it is still imperative that costs are kept down wherever possible. With our clever D-Mate system, we have been able to offer that luxury control and feel. Energy use is kept to a minimum through automatic dimming of lights in communal areas and switching off entirely in corridors.”