er
energy & resources
Lighting Design:
Enlightening design
Above: Sails were installed at Burswood Entertainment Complex to assist in cooling, but
worked effectively to create a soft reflected illumination into the lobby. Also used to
promote various ‘causes’ such as Pink Breast Cancer, SIDs Red Nose, etc.
Left: External Architecture – An installation done by ProDesign as a temporary example
of the difference lighting can make to a building. The existing lighting is provided by the
‘yellowish carpark wash’. ProDesign has introduced the texture and column highlighting
to make it interesting.
EFFECTIVE AND INTELLIGENT LIGHTING
DESIGN IS ESSENTIAL FOR ACCOMMODATION
BUSINESSES MANAGING HIGH ELECTRICITY
PRICES, MINIMUM ENERGY STANDARDS AND
INCREASINGLY ENVIRONMENTALLY
CONSCIOUS GUESTS.
The Green Building Council of Australia estimates that efficient lighting
design and management can reduce a lighting energy bill by 40% to
80%. Advances in LED (light-emitting diode) and compact fluorescent
lamp technology mean that viable alternatives to energy guzzling lights
are available. However, lighting design professionals advise caution
before replacing all lights with the cheapest energy efficient alternatives.
When thinking about lighting for an entire hotel or resort or even just
one room, whether it is lighting for staff working back-of-house or for
guests throughout the property, it is essential to first work out what the
light will do in a space and what effect you want it to achieve.
Kevin Harris is founder and director of lighting design consultancy
ProDesign Lighting. “The biggest problem with lighting is that if it’s
wrong, you don’t know that it’s wrong, you just don’t feel right. If it’s
right, you don’t notice anything, it’s just a warm comfortable feeling and
you’re happy to be there,” he says.
the aesthetics and as a bonus it saves you money,” adds Mr Harris.
Fundamentally, the overall consideration of a space is at least as
important as the selection of globes and energy use. Ms Kleegraefe
and Mr Harris discuss some challenges posed by different spaces and
suggest a few solutions to overcome them. Hotel rooms can offer
limited lighting design options because they are often very minimal
spaces and defined by a building’s structure. Thinking practically about
guest needs is a good way to improve room lighting.
Mr Harris uses an example of a hotel where a large number of guests
are families with young children. He says low-level LED fixtures around
the base of the wall providing a dimly lit path to the bathroom in the
middle of the night was an important innovation. Meanwhile, corridors
are the perfect location to use something energy efficient and even
consider using clever switching and control so that the lights don’t
operate when nobody is in the space.
Taking the amount of natural light in a space into account and using
lighting that matches or balances out that light if need be is also
important.
In a restaurant or bar, lighting that creates a welcoming and
comfortable atmosphere is vital. Mr Harris suggests that CFLs are not
the most flattering or comfortable light source to use in such a space.
Outdoor lighting can work functionally as safety and security lighting
without turning night into simulated day.
Architectural Lighting Design director Petra Kleegraefe agrees: “Lighting
is not something you notice or even want noticed but it does play a
vital role in creating the right mood for a space and in illuminating an
area for specific tasks.”
Ms Kleegraefe says LEDs are well suited to outdoor spaces. “I think
outdoor lighting should be very subtle and should not be too bright –
at low light levels really so as not to turn the space into day. I think that
just feels unnatural at night,” she says.
Ms Kleegraefe strives to make a space feel really attractive and
enjoyable without her clients or the people using a space “realising that
it’s the lighting that creates visual hierarchies that guide and attract
them”.
Mr Harris concurs, adding that there are ways to incorporate security
and safety lighting into outdoor spaces by illuminating the foliage or
other key features and reflecting light off these features without actually
throwing light directly onto a path or space.
“Energy management is vital but part of that is that you use it to create
So how do accommodation industry professionals marry the aesthetic
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ACCOM MANAGEMENT GUIDE
s
He adds that whether a light is inside or out, lighting a podium or a
guest room, it has to have a reason for being there, a job to do.
energy & resources
er
Lighting Design:
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impact and functional role lighting has in different spaces with the need
to reduce electricity costs (and consumption)? Lighting design
professionals suggest determining the aesthetic and functional needs of
a space and balancing those with the lights and control systems
available to deliver the results you want to achieve.
“In a hospitality environment, the atmosphere is the major factor and
everything else has to fit around how it feels for the guest. That’s where
most of our work has been done, in combining aesthetics, making the
place feel right, to allowing that to still save you money,” explains Mr
Harris.
Ms Kleegraefe adds: “The challenge for hotels is to use those [energy
efficient] light sources but still keep the quality aspect. I normally discuss
with clients how far they want to go with energy efficiency in relation to
quality and often different areas of quality are identified.”
Mr Harris explains the progress in light fittings from incandescent lamps
to halogens, CFLs and now LEDs. With a nation-wide phase out of
inefficient incandescent lamps well under way, the transition many
accommodation industry businesses are considering today is integrating
LEDs and CFLs in with existing halogen fittings.
Richard Shepherd, channel manager - trade lamps at Philips Lighting
says there are numerous options for accommodation managers when
considering energy efficient lighting design. The company’s Eco Halogen
range of globes offer up to 30% energy savings compared to the last
general lighting service incandescent technology (now phased out); CFL
energy savers offer up to 80% energy savings; and LEDs offer up to
85% energy savings compared to standard incandescent/halogen light
sources.
He says the most popular range used in the accommodation industry is
the compact fluorescent energy saver range because the lamps offer a
good balance between affordability and lifetime. However, he points out
that there is also a growing movement and keen interest in LED
technology.
Ms Kleegraefe says that LEDs are like computer technology, constantly
improving in lifespan, lowering in price and improving in terms of their
colour temperature.
Despite their technological march forward, LEDs are still considerably
more expensive than CFLs or energy efficient halogens and they are not
yet achieving the diversity in light that halogens achieve, although this
could soon change. Ms Kleegraefe and Mr Harris also point out that
LED lamp life is not always the thirty 30,000 to 50,000 hours quoted by
a supplier because if they’re not manufactured correctly, lamps could fail
within a few months. This malfunction often has to do with heat, says
Ms Kleegraefe and the best approach to LEDs is using high quality
lamps and established suppliers with a good warranty wherever
possible. Another consideration with LEDs is that they are not currently
a suitable direct replacement for halogens. However, as Mr Harris says,
this could change very soon.
Both Mr Harris and Ms Kleegraefe rate LEDs more highly than CFLs. Mr
Harris comes back to an intangible explanation for this – CFLs just
don’t feel as inviting and comfortable as the warm glow of old
incandescent lamps or even some halogens. CFLs also contain a small
amount of mercury which should be disposed of responsibly at the end
of a lamp’s lifetime.
Kam Dhatt, design manager at Sylvania Lighting Australasia says LED
technology has started a transformation with creative play of lighting
design and layouts for many reasons. Listing the benefits of LEDs he
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ACCOM MANAGEMENT GUIDE
Government House Perth, ProDesign - Fibre Optics introduced to
external stairs and walkways for both aesthetics and safety. During
the day the fittings disappear into the stonework, but elegantly
illuminate the locations at night.
says the small size of the lamps lend themselves to discreet fit-out, they
are energy efficient and have a long life span, their control is as good
as halogen for dimming and creating different beam types, and they
have good glare control.
However he says that this is not to say LEDs are the be-all and end-all
and that CFLs cannot be integrated into the best lighting designs.
“More designers are making use of slimline and compact fluorescents
for indirect and backlit fixture design. More of these sources are actually
being integrated into the overall interior design and architecture,” he
says.
So what about halogens versus LEDs? Mr Harris says that even if
energy saving halogens are used – a 45 watt halogen gives the
equivalent of a 75 watt output and a 35 watt [is equivalent] to a 50
watt – it is still a fairly significant watt output when compared to a 9, 10
or 12 watt LED. Moreover, even if they don’t always achieve their
specified lifespan, LEDs still have a significantly longer life than halogens
and CFLs.
In the end, determining what light to use in a space, whether fitting out
a new building or refurbishing a section of a property, comes down to
compromises on upfront capital costs and payback period, energy use
and ongoing maintenance costs, the functional role of the light and the
mood it creates.
As a general rule, purchasing quality lamps and fittings is essential to
get the longest life and best quality light to meet expectations. And with
advances in technology, choosing energy efficient lamps that still cast
the right light on a subject is becoming much easier to achieve.
Sarah Robertson - Industry Reporter