Lighting to illuminate the mind

Education Spaces consider good and appropriate lighting to be a fundamental design feature of every learning environment. When planning your new building, Education Spaces will consider how best to achieve the correct levels of natural and synthetic light, dependent on the classroom's location and intended purpose. Today's Building Regulations are ever more stringent in terms of lighting and energy efficiencies. We use both experience and SBEM calculations to design building that are fully compliant yet bright and inviting. Moreover, our team of qualified experienced electricians will ensure your lighting is correctly installed, safe and fully certified.

Energy Efficiency

Educational buildings must comply with stringent energy consumption and heat emissions regulations. That is why we install highly-efficient LED lighting, that performs at under 5 W/m². This lighting comes in two formats:

Aurora LED down-lights:

• White colour finish (as standard)
• Life span of 40,000 hrs
• 4.8 watts
• 4000K colour temperature
• 5-year warranty

LED Lux panel (600 by 600 mm):

• White frame surround
• Life span of 50,000 hrs
• 25 watts with 2800 lumens
• 4800K 'neutral white' colour temperature (as standard)
• 1-year warranty with 5-year extended warranty available

Both the down-lights and panels are maintenance free, with a dimmable option and different colour temperatures available.

Internal Lighting

You will, in consultation with our designers, decide exactly where and what lighting you desire for your classroom. If north facing or maybe an art studio we will encourage capitalising on natural light from above using either skylights or sun tubes (see below). Equally, many of our designs include fabulous contemporary glazing solutions which also minimise the need to 'switch on' and consume electricity.

External Lighting

Schools are often used in the evenings and at weekends for extra curricula activities and outsourced as a mean of raising revenue. Well positioned outdoor lighting is important, especially through the dark winter months. Our designs will incorporate weatherproof external LED down lighting above all walkways and entrance to enhance safety and security and create a welcoming ambience.

In addition, we can install deck lighting for outdoor areas and spot lighting for features such as pathways, trees and other buildings.

Maximising natural light

It is not always possible to achieve the desired levels of natural light if your proposed build site is, for example, overshadowed. This is a common issue when integrating new classrooms within the limited confines of an existing school complex. We therefore install skylights and sun tubes, both highly effective in harvesting natural light, which in turn significantly reduce your energy consumption. Crucially, they work perfectly with our roofing system, so there is no impact on our impressive manufacturer-backed roof warranties.

Sun-tubes:

Sun-tube gathers natural light at roof level and transfers it, via highly reflective tubing, to a ceiling fitting which diffuses this light into the room below. EduSpaces use Solatube Daylighting Systems, which are the world's leading sun-tube brand:

• Backed by BBA (British Board of Agrément) Certification
• 10-year manufacturer's warranty
• 99.7% reflective tube material
• Thermally efficient
• Includes man-safe security mesh
• Maximum output with minimum building impact

Sky Lights:

Skylights are a popular and cost effective solution to enhancing natural light level:

• Double glazed
• Highly thermally efficient: 0.9 W/m2K
• Sit within an extruded aluminium frame
• Comes with an easy clean coating
• Available in wide range of sizes*
• Require minimal maintenance

Our skylights are installed within a made to measure upstand which enhances the thermal performance and enables the skylight to be changed without disturbing the integrity of the roof. We use a specialist flashing which is continuous with the EPDM rubber roofing system giving a seamless, weatherproof, durable finish.

*For larger units our structural engineers will ensure the roof structure is reinforced.

Security Lighting

As an additional feature, our electricians can install PIR (Passive Infrared) lights around your Edu-building, giving instant illumination when approaching in the dark and for added security. PIR lights house a motion sensor that detects the heat (infra-red) emitted naturally by humans and animals and they are commonly installed on both commercial and residential sites.

Quality that will last

EduSpaces pride ourselves in sourcing the best quality materials and using highly experience qualified installers. All our lighting products meet UK standards and Buildings Regulation for light transmittance, structural strength and stability, weather tightness, fire retardancy, thermal properties and durability.

*SBEM and EPC

EduSpaces employ The Simplified Building Energy Model (SBEM) to calculate the energy performance of our buildings and demonstrate compliance with Part L of the Building Regulations. SBEM calculations are also used to support Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) when required.