Visual comfort, energy savings
Public car parks are often lit 24/7 in order to guarantee the safety and comfort of users. But isn't it possible to retain this comfort whilst reducing the energy bill? This is exactly what VINCI Park accomplished with the help of ETAP in the Haussmann Berri car park.
VINCI Park is the European parking leader and one of the top world players in the sector. The Haussman Berri car park, located near the Champs-Elysées, in Paris, boasts 1306 parking spaces on two levels. "Since the car park is open day and night, the lights were switched on permanently," points out Philippe Deval, VINCI Park technical operations manager. "With a view to saving energy, we wanted to rationalise lighting and, at the same time, improve the lighting level."
Automation of the lighting system by means of presence detection
Traffic in a car park is intermittent. It is therefore not essential that the lights be on 24/7, which is why ETAP recommended that VINCI Park install a presence detection system coupled with automatic lighting control. This system is based on the DALI (Digital Addressable Lighting Interface). Presence detectors are installed at each pedestrian and vehicle access point.
With this system, the lights will be automatically switched on whenever a vehicle or pedestrian passes. ETAP experts handled the programming of the detection system: after two minutes without movement, lighting decreases by 50 %. After a further two minutes, the lights go into standby mode, at 20 % of their power. "In this way our customers benefit from an optimal lighting level under all circumstances without us having to illuminate the car park 24/7," stresses Philippe Deval. "This allows us to make a significant energy saving, mainly at night, without affecting our level of service.”
Improvement in visual comfort
ETAP suggested that VINCI Park install 49W fluorescent E62 luminaires, which improve the illuminance level compared to the old luminaires. Their flat photometry generates better horizontal light distribution. "The more uniform and homogeneous lighting provides great visual comfort to our customers," adds Philippe Deval. "The better lighting quality also increases the feeling of safety. The new luminaires in fact improve vertical lighting, in compliance with recommendations under standard EN 12464-1, which translates into the improved lighting of faces, and consequently, a more secure feeling among pedestrians and motorists using the car park."
Power consumption greatly reduced
The solution implemented allowed to considerably reduce power consumption in the car park. The performance of the new luminaires in fact requires 25 % less power, compared to the previously installed luminaires. This is added to the savings achieved thanks to the presence detection system. The initial measures are highly encouraging and allow to anticipate major savings.