Food retailer Farmfoods’ growing portfolio of buildings must all provide the correct ambient conditions and achieve optimum efficiency. To help meet this brief at its 175,000ft2 Avonmouth distribution centre, the retailer asked Minimise Energy to provide a complete lighting design and supply solution.
Farmfoods incorporates LED lighting in all new stores and warehouses as standard. Minimise designs, supplies and manages all new and refurbishment lighting projects, achieving return on investment periods of less than three years for each.
For the Avonmouth distribution centre, Farmfoods required an expert retail lighting design service, ensuring the scheme could not only withstand the -22?C ambient environment but also respond to and benefit from the building’s changing natural light conditions. It also had to meet BS EN 12464 – 2:2014 and be completed within a tight schedule.
Incorporating frozen and ambient storage facilities as well as office space, the facility’s envelope features multiple vault roof lights covering 15 per cent of the total ambient roof area. This provides natural light and needed to be considered within the lighting design to maximise lighting energy savings and carbon emissions.
Minimise Energy was asked to design an LED lighting scheme which would maximise energy efficiencies, take into account the changing natural light conditions, meet Building Control Standards, and be fully responsive in an ambient environment.
The subsequent design required the careful positioning of multiple 250W high bay LEDs, which respond automatically to changing daylight conditions, both at floor and higher levels. While building in optimum energy efficiency, it was essential that all areas were illuminated to provide best operational efficiencies at all times, regardless of light source.
Sensors have been included throughout the design, with presence, area, daylight and dimming sensors fitted in the ambient section of the building to respond to natural light from the roof lights. The Minimise team was on site to provide installation support and ensure that the commissioning of the sensors was fully responsive.
Commenting on the LEDs, William Scanlon, Property Development Manager of Farmfoods Ltd, said:
“Maintaining our frozen food in perfect condition is crucial to Farmfoods. So too is our ability to do so in the most energy efficient way possible. Designing in the optimum LEDs and associated lighting controls is one of the ways that we continue to achieve these aims.”
