Marl International Transforms Sports Hall at Top School with LED Lighting
Marl International has transformed the sports hall at one of the North of England’s most prestigious independent schools, Abbey Gate College, Cheshire, by installing LED lighting that improved the hall environment, and provided much brighter and more even lighting that comes on instantly.
Commenting on the installation of LED lights at Abbey Gate College, Business Manager Andrew Bache said, “The real appeal of Marl LED lights for us is the convenience and improvement in the environment. Though the sodium lights were adequate for football and gymnastics, the hall is also used for examinations and social events. We were able to dramatically increase the light level in the hall, ensuring the corners as well as the central area is brightly lit. The LED lights are much whiter and very much more even, since the output of the sodium lamps degrades noticeably as they age.”
Karl Brooks, Strategic Account Manager of Marl who managed the installation said, “With the new lighting, the darkest areas of the hall are as brightly lit as the centre was previously, and the centre is even brighter. There is also now relatively little difference between the edges and the centre.”
In addition to improving the appearance, the new lights offered cost savings in several areas, as Mr Bache explained, “The sodium lights took about 20 minutes to warm up, so were normally left on all day. Now we can just switch them on when we arrive and off when we leave.”
Mr Bache concluded, “Marl's help in sourcing a suitable light for our application was exceptional. Now, the biggest problem we face is reminding staff to turn the lights off when they leave. Everyone notices the improvement in the hall environment. One of the most visible is the way people no longer appear ‘orange’ in photographs.”
At Abbey Gate College, Marl replaced sixteen SON 250W sodium lamps with thirty-two 145W 774-series Bay Range 3-way floodlights. Following the installation, light levels across the hall improved considerably and are much more even. Measured brightness was around 200 lux at 1m from the wall with the old lighting, and is now about 350 lux – a 75% improvement. In the centre of the hall light levels have gone up by just over 20% from 350 lux to 450 lux.
About Abbey Gate College:
Abbey Gate College is an independent, co-educational school located approximately five miles south of Chester occupying two leased sites within the Duke of Westminster’s Estate. Pupils, parents and staff value and cherish the wonderful setting of the College. The grounds of the Senior School at Saighton Grange and the Infant/Junior School at Aldford provide a unique environment for the education of the pupils. Over recent years the College has worked hard to enhance the quality and range of facilities on site, and delivers a diverse range of educational opportunities offering a broad and balanced curriculum. The College continually seeks to develop its facilities in order to provide a high quality learning environment, where “all students achieve their academic and personal potential” (ISI Inspection Report 2010).
For more information, please visit: http://www.abbeygatecollege.co.uk/
About Marl International:
Marl International has specialised in the design and manufacture of visible LED indication and illumination components and systems for nearly 40 years. As UK distributor for Citizen, Lighting Science, Bivar and a hub of a pro-actively managed international supply chains, Marl has unique access to some of the best Solid State Lighting and Electronics technology in the world. It integrates these technologies into energy efficient lighting and indication solutions. Marl International has world class design and manufacturing facilities, staffed by over 100 highly trained and experienced specialists operating from a single site on a dedicated technology park in Ulverston, England. As a unified team, they offer agility, speed, flexibility, and willingness to respond to both needs and expectations as projects evolve and mature through the entire product life cycle. Marl partners with leaders in Defence, Aerospace, Entertainment, Transportation, and Lighting industries in the UK, Europe, North America, and Asia.
Marl is a quality company. It is registered to BS EN ISO 9001:2008 standard and fully RoHS and WEEE compliant.
