Bella Center P5 Car Park
A zero-emissions lighting project for Bella Center
Scotia put its solar-powered outdoor lighting columns under the scrutiny of some of the world’s leading environmentalists at the Copenhagen Climate Conference, to demonstrate the feasibility of emissions-free lighting even at northern latitudes.
The project was conceived to support the Bella Center in its efforts to reduce its carbon footprint in the run up to the UN climate conference, held in Copenhagen December 2009. The goal was to provide Scandinavia’s largest conference centre with an attractive, well-lit outdoor environment – but without contributing any carbon emissions.
Solar-powered SunMasts
Selected to light the project was the Scotia SunMast, a solar powered outdoor lighting column designed to help the client achieve the environmental goal of zero-emission street lighting. By integrating the most efficient solar cells available into a single, slender form, it has the potential to generate more electricity than it requires. Solar energy is exported to the grid. The integrated cells have been especially designed with excellent low light behaviour to perform well at northern latitudes. The masts generate between 80 and 400 kWh a year and are available in heights of 4m, 5m, 7m, 8m and 10m.
Each 8m mast situated in Copenhagen is estimated to generate over 250 kWh and save at least 140kg of CO2 a year compared to a conventional street lamp. The masts are fail-safe, do not rely on batteries or weather conditions, and cut maintenance costs by using stable long-lasting technology with no moving parts.
The benefits of solar power are no longer limited by geography or climate
About the lighting
An important aim of the new lighting was to improve the centre's night-time image, creating a warmer welcome for evening and early morning visitors. Antiquated 250W orange sodium lamps were replaced with a custom system of 60W LED luminaires that light the ground in bright but warm white light (3500 K). The car park lighting levels have been designed to comply with the highest classification of road lighting regulations. It is one of the first LED street lighting applications to be trialled successfully.
At the same time, Scotia sought to demonstrate how light can be used to help visitors identify the different colour-coded parking zones: bands of light formed by coloured LEDs embedded in the masts are used to identify the P5 car park as ‘the blue zone’ and help with orientation.
About the lamp head
Designed independently of the SunMast, the Bella Center luminaire was the result of a collaboration between Scotia, architects 3XN and Italian outdoor lighting specialists EWO. The luminaire was designed by 3XN as a response to the site and in recognition of the importance of the climate agenda. The design takes advantage of high-quality LEDs, directing light only to where it is needed on the ground. The luminaire contains ideas from Japanese origami, which in addition to being highly aesthetic are strictly functional – even with respect to wind loading. Kim Herforth Nielsen, principal of 3XN, said: “The lamp head works in conjunction with the mast to form a very sculptural expression – with a veiled reference to the lamp’s futuristic LED technology.”
International partners
Scotia has been actively supported by a number of top names from the fields of architecture, lighting and solar engineering. The mast was prototyped and engineered by Danish lighting company Riegens and solar cells with low-light sensitivity were specially developed by German giant Q-Cells. The project received additional engineering support by environmental consultants Grontmij Carl Bro.
‘This is exactly the right time to launch a sustainable and innovative lighting technology such as the Scotia Mast that helps public and private organisations meet their economic, ecological and social obligations, the so-called triple bottom line,’ says Scotia’s managing director Heine Olsen. ‘The price/performance ratio of photovoltaics is improving very rapidly and the benefits of solar power are no longer limited by geography or climate.’