BLE case-studies - emergency lighting & power syst

BIRMINGHAM AIRPORT FLYING HIGH ABOVE SAFETY STANDARDS WITH BLE

When Birmingham International Airport started the construction of the new state-of-the-art International Pier in June 2008, the airport called upon Sheffield-based BLE Lighting and Power to provide the emergency lighting and power system.

BLE Lighting & Fire has had a relationship with Birmingham International Airport for over five years. The team designed and specified the system which consisted of two large central batteries to sustain the emergency power system, several hundred 110 volt slave conversions to mains lighting luminaires, bulkheads and exit signs – all monitored and tested by a BLE Autoglow addressable lighting testing
system.

Normal mains lighting fittings were sent to BLE’s factory in Eckington, Sheffield where each one was fitted with a slave conversion kit enabling them to operate from a 110 volt AC or DC supply. Each unit also incorporated a mains hold-off relay to provide local subcircuit monitoring.

An addressable module with a photocell was interfaced into each luminaire to monitor lamp output and communicate the luminaire’s condition to the central control panel. With several hundred emergency lights connected to it, the automated testing by BLE’s Autoglow addressable system will save the airport substantial maintenance costs in the future.

Over 9.6 million passengers travelled through Birmingham International Airport in 2008, making it the sixth busiest airport in the UK. However, these figures are set to rise dramatically when the new International Pier becomes fully operational. Three storeys high, 240 m long and 24 m wide, this impressive facility will relieve the congestion built up on the current two-tier pier. Departing passengers will travel on the top level, arriving passengers on the middle, and offices for airline staff and handling agents will be on the ground level. The pier will be capable of accommodating next generation and environmentally efficient wide-bodied aircraft with six new aircraft stands, providing the catalyst for improved global travel for the Midlands.

A BRILLIANT PERFORMANCE FROM BLE AT THE LG ARENA

August 2009. The NEC Arena and the NEC Forum in Birmingham are currently undergoing a major refurbishment and rebranding to reaffirm the arena as a leading international venue. The LG Arena, newly named after a large sponsorship agreement with LG Electronics, will receive new seating, hospitality areas, bars, restaurants and improved back-stage facilities, plus a cutting-edge new sound and lighting system.

As part of this £28million development, BLE Lighting & Fire was asked to supply all of the lighting and power equipment specified by the main contractor M&E Consultants Limited; all of which has been fitted by the two electrical contractors: WT Parker Limited of Burton-on-Trent and CEL Building Services Limited of London.

Market-leading technology was required to provide the flexible lighting system specified, producing a system that is capable of adapting to each event held at the West-Midlands venue. BLE Lighting & Fire supplied two emergency lighting and power systems. Two high performance static inverter systems were fitted to power the normal light fittings in the event of a power failure. These three phase output
units range from 10 - 160kVA and are manufactured with state of the art technology to ensure that functional emergency lighting is instantly available when required.

Dedicated emergency light fittings and exit signs were also fitted in both the arena and the forum, the latter featuring BLE's Dual Circuit Technology control board, making the unit suitable for both non-maintained and maintained applications, with an impressive 36m viewing distance.  BLE developed sub-circuit monitor boards to interface the static inverter system with the general lighting circuits. These monitor and activate the emergency lights in the event of mains power failure. In addition, a further
static inverter was installed to operate a smoke extraction ventilation system. The re-launch and official renaming is planned for October 2009.

Read our latest news at BLE.