Monthly electricity bills slashed from £500 to just £20

CP was a natural first-choice for ILEC IMEC, as it set out to revamp its new 5,500sq ft flagship office building. 

Following several years of impressive growth, ILEC IMEC needed new premises to house its rapidly-expanding workforce, and research and development team.
With the old premises no longer fit for purpose due to space constraints, ILEC IMEC wanted to make a statement with its new state-of-the-art head office and sought input from CP, the industry-leading manufacturer of intelligent lighting controls.

A key requirement of the project was that the new building needed to showcase the ILEC IMEC in the best possible light. They wanted to create a working environment that was conducive to the productivity and wellbeing of their employees, while showcasing best practice in energy efficiency. 

However, with tight timescales on the project, which was scheduled to be carried out by ILEC IMEC over a 12-week period, close collaboration between the two businesses was necessary. The first step was a consultation between ILEC/ IMEC and CP Electronics, which enabled the latter to make a series of informed recommendations to help meet the lighting objectives of the client. 

In this case, CP’s Vitesse Plus lighting control system (VITP7-MB-DD) was the ideal solution to make the most of the natural light which entered in through the windows situated around the perimeter of the building. This allowed for lux levels to remain constant due to the presence of daylight dimming, helping to eliminate unnecessary energy usage when natural lighting could be favoured over artificial lighting. For added control, this also came with manual dim up/ down functionality to allow the end-user to override the daylight dimming as required. 

Vitesse Plus scene select plates (VITP7-4SC) were recommended to allow for lighting levels to be pre-programmed and quickly configured. The original plan was to include four switches on the wall but following a change in direction on the project, VITP7-4SC was seen as the ideal choice. Moreover, because it fit comfortably within the holes which had already been cut in the wall, this saved time on plastering and other additional activities. 

CP’s Vitesse Modular lighting connection system was chosen for the circulation areas and toilets because of its compatibility with the application, ensuring a consistent level of lighting for the safety and comfort of the building occupants. The intuitive design of the system meant that it could be quickly and easily installed, which was particularly important given the time constraints on the project.

Equally crucial to the energy savings made possible throughout the project was the introduction of solar panels which accounted for a sizeable portion of the building’s overall energy requirements. The inclusion of ILEC IMEC’s own Thermarestor product further added to the electrical fire safety aspect of the building design, ensuring that the overall objective of creating a highly efficient, highly safe flagship building was well and truly met.