Ernst & Young opts for green and intelligentTotal approach to lighting leads to energy savings of up to 55%
With its new Belgian head office in Diegem, Ernst & Young is playing a pioneering role in the field of the environment. Solar panels, recycling of rainwater, 100% green energy – the company has left nothing to chance. When it comes to lighting, a well-thought-out total approach leads to energy savings of up to 55%. The new head office is designed to be the consulting company’s showpiece. The building has five floors and comprises a surface area of more than 17,000m2. It combines a striking architectural design with a wide range of cutting-edge technologies in the field of the environment and energy.The long term at the back of the mindAmong other things, Ernst & Young opted for 100% green electricity. Rainwater is collected and used for the building’s cooling system. On the roof there are 230 photovoltaic panels, and sensors detecting the presence of people in the building control the HVAC installations. The striking thing here is that Ernst & Young has been bold enough to think in the long term. The time it takes to recover the costs on some investments exceeds the standard period of three or five years.
“As a market leader we want to make a positive contribution to society and reduce the environmental impact of our activities to an absolute minimum. Our new head office is environmentally friendly and intelligent in all respects, and thus embodies that commitment.” (Ghislain Vanfraechem, Director Facility Department, Ernst & Young)
Sophisticated total approach
For the lighting Ernst & Young called on ETAP’s consultants for a total customised approach. They studied every aspect of the lighting in order to arrive at an optimal result:
• Energy-saving luminaires guarantee the highest efficiencies in their category.
• A well-thought-out lighting design increases lighting comfort for the employees and reduces the number of luminaires and total installed power.
• Sensors detecting the presence of people and daylight sensors adjust the lighting, per luminaire or per room, to the actual requirement.
• The light control at building level means the lighting can be controlled centrally, with such features as task-dependent control and intelligent time control.
Project sheet:
- More than 1,700 reflector luminaires with Isolum baffles, perfectly integrated into the linear plank ceiling without any visible rims.
- Almost 800 movement detectors and 60 daylight sensors.
- Luminaires with HaloOptics® diffusers for the restaurant, here, too, incorporated without any visible rims.
- E6 and E12 luminaires with a high protection factor for the garage car parks.
- Emergency lighting using K1 and K9 LED modules. The K9 modules are mainly incorporated in the reflector luminaires.
- LED strips give a fanciful touch to the meeting room doors.
- ELM light control (Excellum Energy & Light Manager) at building level for maximum energy saving. ELM also enables a flexible arrangement of rooms without cables having to be moved. After all, every luminaire can be controlled individually.
About Ernst & Young
Ernst & Young is the worldwide leader in professional services. It is active in various aspects that are essential to company performance, such as audit, tax matters, accountancy, transactions, online security and corporate risk management.