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Clipper Logistics has 10 million sq. ft of warehousing space over 46 sites and a fleet of over 300 vehicles, with a nimble and effective approach that adapts to the changing demands of retail. 

The recent refurbishment of its Northampton warehouse located at Junction 15 of the M1,  included a new lighting solution which needed over 1,000 luminaires. 

In order to fulfil the brief, lighting provider Zumtobel had to find a solution which would switch each batten individually instead of the entire row. The battens also needed corridor function with the capability of switching off. 

Principal contractors for the refurbishment work were AGF UK of Welwyn with Whitton Electrical of Hemel Hempstead invited by AGF to design and install a suitable energy efficient lighting system. 

Whitton worked to a brief from Clipper to light the racking aisles as efficiently as possible whilst providing a level of escape lighting that was compliant with BS5266. The original lighting system incorporated individual emergency bulkhead fittings with a single test key per lighting row, meaning that servicing the emergency lighting was time consuming and costly. 

Whitton opted for Zumtobel’s Tecton system. In addition to Tecton, the Ebox central battery system was selected due to its time and cost savings, thanks to the self-test emergency lighting function. With such an immense operation, it was crucial that the lighting met all the criteria required including good colour rendering low maintenance, energy savings and flexibility. 

Used throughout the racking areas and open spaces, the Tecton LED continuous row system merges light source, batten luminaire and reflector into a single visual, functional unit. Quick and easy to install, this end-to-end solution has a service life of 50,000 hours at 70% luminous flux and an efficiency of up to 168 lm per W, resulting in less expenditure on maintenance, fewer interruptions to work, and reduced energy consumption. As Tecton is a plug and play solution, the layout of the lighting can easily be changed with little down time which is ideal for the ever-changing environment at Clipper.  

To increase energy savings an integrated sensor pre-programmed to the required functions has also been incorporated. The functionality of the control system takes the illumination from 100% with a hold time of five minutes, down to 10% with a hold time of 30 minutes before switching off completely. This, in itself, removes the chance of human error in switching off when the space is not in use and provides more user comfort as the luminaires switch back on when the space is occupied, so users don’t have to enter dark areas and unlit aisles.  

In addition to Tecton, the Resclite Pro, small, energy-efficient LED spots with finely optimised optics provide the emergency lighting throughout the space. This emergency solution can be adapted to suit the requirements of different spatial environments and trusted to maintain maximum safety.  

The system is used in conjunction with Onlite Central Ebox, the unobtrusive system that offers building safety with maximum flexibility. The Ebox allows simple commissioning, combined with highly efficient operation and a nominal environmental footprint. More than just a control centre for the emergency power supply, Ebox has been optimised for use with LED technology and can operate up to 30 electrical circuits and 600 safety and escape sign luminaires. The energy efficiency of Online Central EBOX is impressive when combined with LED safety and escape sign luminaires, and can be reduced by 60% whilst helping to ensure the safety of building users. 

Jon Whitton, managing director of Whitton Electrical, commented, “The installation of the Tecton system and luminaires was extremely quick with no time wasted cabling separate fittings and installing retaining brackets onto luminaires.   

“The installation literally clipped together simultaneously enabling the lighting to be illuminated as and when a row was complete. This can easily be altered if required in the future with little or no re-cabling.” 

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