Major cost-savings though lighting of a multi-storey car park
Automated lighting is the key
The newest multi-storey car park at North Karelia Central Hospital was inaugurated at the beginning of 2014. The parking garage “Parkkitalo 2´ can accommodate up to 500 cars and it serves the staff of the entire large hospital area 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Lighting constitutes a major share of the running costs of a large multi-storey car park, and therefore special attention was paid on the efficiency of lighting. Electrical engineer Hannu Tuomainen says that traditional lighting with fluorescent tubes was considered as an alternative when various solutions were compared during the process. The LED-based system, however, was considered preferable. “Our calculations show that the higher initial investment repays itself in a relatively short period of time,´ says Mr Tuomainen.
Valopaa was selected as the lighting system supplier. Low consumption of energy, low maintenance costs and a wireless control system raised the customer´s interest. The expectations are high. “Of course, we want to see that the cost-savings promised will materialise,´ says Mr Tuomainen.
The system has received positive feedback from the users. The lighting switches on and off depending on the movements in the parking garage. “Nobody has to walk around in the dark, and yet we are able to minimise our basic electricity consumption,´ Mr Tuomainen concludes.
The system was installed by Sähkö-Saarelainen Oy. Technical Director Jorma Tykkyläinen is satisfied with the lighting system and cooperation with Valopaa. “Valopaa responded rapidly to all our wishes and comments. Cooperation was uncomplicated and straightforward,´ says Mr Tykkyläinen.
Regional Sales Manager Kalevi Laitinen of Valopaa highlights the control and adjustment properties of the system as well as its optimal lighting power. “According to the preliminary calculations for Tikkaparkki multi-storey car park, the maximum power required by the system would need to be 90% and minimum power 30% of nominal power. In other words, these values were considered sufficient when the need for lighting is low. These figures as such would have already yielded significant cost savings,´ Mr Laitinen calculates. However, the commissioning of the system presented a nice surprise. “We noted that the maximum power of 60% and minimum power of 20% were easily sufficient to obtain the required level of lighting. This means that the cost savings will be greater than expected,´ says Mr Laitinen.
Although the system used in Tikkaparkki multi-storey car park is particularly designed for parking garages, it can be used for a number of other applications. The Leppävirta cross-country skiing arena also utilises Valopaa technology. “The largest underground cross-country skiing arena in the world is an important cooperation partner for us,´ says Mr Laitinen. “In practice, the luminaires of the LED system are virtually maintenance-free. This is very important when the area lit consists of long, narrow passageways.´
Further information on Valopaa multi-storey car par lighting solutions: Intelligent lighting > Intelligent Parking Garage Lighting
Project: PKSSK Tikkaparkki, Parkkihalli 2 multi-storey car park, Joensuu, Finland
Products: Intelligent Parking Garage Luminaire VP2301
Number of luminaires: 91 VP2301 M8 luminaires and 21 VP2301 M6 luminaires
Year: 2013 (commissioned at the beginning of 2014)
Electrical work: Sähkö-Saarelainen Oy
