Is it time to refurbish the learning environment?

Today, the modern learning environment is a space that is meticulously designed to engage pupils, support teachers and be energy efficient; all while increasing levels of learning.

Modern schools and universities enhance the learning experience for both students and teachers by being correctly lit, airy, open and comfortable spaces, where individuals can communicate and share information with ease. These education spaces are flexible in their formatting and layouts and they have been fitted with features that harness modern technologies, making them smarter.

But what can be done to improve on existing schools and universities, how can a refurbishment of the lighting improve the experience for everyone and save money?

When is it time to refurbish?

Places of education around the world carry a large responsibility on their shoulders. From primary care through to PhD laboratories, these special places must nurture and support pupils to thrive and teachers to do their best work and modern LED, quality light products can help to enable this.

Not all facilities have modern fixtures and the impact of the older, inefficient and inappropriate lighting can be detrimental to everyone in the learning space. By upgrading to modern LED luminaires, with controls and sensors an education space, its cost effectiveness, its environmental impact and most of all its ability to allow for ease of learning, can all be greatly improved.

Glare, not meeting standards, the colour and tone of the light, power consumption and its cost, reduced visibility impairing communication or simply defunct luminaires that can’t be fixed or replaced - there are so many reasons to consider and beginning a refurbishment project.

Planning is essential

When taking on a refurbishment of lighting it is vital consider the whole lighting scheme. It is not a piecemeal operation, but a roll out across the facilities that will offer a complete improvement for everyone in the space. Several key factors must be considered when beginning to plan a new lighting scheme. Natural light, lighting controls, emergency lighting, use of space etc. all factor when designing the optimal lighting solutions for an education facility.

The new lighting design must also calculate and reduce the CO2 levels, keeping in mind the role that the products, and their potential maintenance, play in a circular economy and most importantly they must enhance the visual comfort for the students and staff.

Also during a refurbishment project, it is very important to consider the suitability of existing or proposed mounting structures. Ease of installation will help manage time pressures, reduce overheads and flexible planning is essential when exchanging the luminaires.

Rewiring is also a key consideration, as it is time consuming and costly. The basicDIM solution from Thorn ticks multiple boxes in a refurbishment project because you don’t need to rewire a classroom to include controls that dim or group LED luminaires. A lighting refurbishment project must be designed to last, to be future proofed as much as possible. By choosing luminaires that incorporate Bluetooth technology the classrooms and lecture halls are ready for the future thanks to the implementation of this wireless technology.

Kinder and smarter

With modern LED solutions you can expand on the role of lighting even further than that of creating optimal environments, because modern quality lighting products are built with the future and people in mind.

To create a dynamic learning environment Thorn recommends using a Variable Colour Temperature (VCT) with the basicDIM solution. This is the “light for the people” solution that works to improve the learning experience for everyone. In a refurbishment project luminaires with VCT technology can be selected to allow the tune of colour temperature.

The VCT technology, with an additional photocell, allows for light to be adjusted throughout the day to work with the amount of natural light and the colour temperature of the light. This solution helps students and teachers to remain focused; it improves comfort and saves energy.

Savings to me made with Omega Pro 2

Thorn has a large portfolio of products designed and manufactured for education projects. Thorn recommends the Omega Pro 2 luminaire to see substantial savings on energy consumption and CO2 emissions.

The Omega Pro 2, with the C-Kit technology, gives educational environments optimal savings on CO2 emissions, while future proofing classrooms to be agile enough to meet the changing capabilities of technologies and sensors.

The luminaire’s unique combination of comfort and connectivity makes the Omega Pro 2 perfect for all the end users and, with product family available in multiple shapes and sizes, its flexibility makes it a sound solutions for refurbishment projects of every size.