Enhancing the Exterior Ambiance of Plymouth Derriford Hospital: With BT Chroma 800 RGBL

Essential Supplies was approached by our local Hospital in Plymouth, University Hospital NHS Derriford. They wanted us to provide an outdoor lighting solution to replace an older system that was no longer functioning properly.  The scope was to illuminate the front of the buildings' two main tower blocks.  The brief included the need for the hospital to swap and change the colour of the illumination light to what they wanted.

After relentlessly searching fixtures, planning and careful collaboration with the Hospital's on-site Electrical Technicians the result was phenomenal.

Choosing the Right Products

Our goal was to replace the original lighting so that it would not only fix the faulty units, but enhance the facia of the building compared to its previous installation. We also wanted it to last longer from the harsh coastal weather while also, offering the ability to programme different lighting designs from a control desk without the need of sophisticated systems and professional qualifications.

Our search began finding the right fixtures in our plan. We started by choosing the superb BT Chroma 800 LED wash light from Briteq. This powerful LED flood light boasts 40 LEDs at 20W each, delivering 9,850 Lux at 5 metres.  Only Briteq would have enough punch to reach the top of a 7 storey tower and even then, we wanted to make sure the wash covered the entire surface.

The BT Chroma 800 is built to withstand the unpredictable weather conditions in the Southwest region. This case study highlights the technical aspects of the project and showcases the positive impact of the lighting installation.

Prior to the installation, our company director Simon James, conducted an on-site assessment of the hospital to determine the most suitable lighting setup and cabling. By carefully measuring and calculating the dimensions, he was able to select the appropriate fixtures, ensuring optimal illumination and an aesthetically pleasing outcome.  This was achieved by using beam frost filters, that allowed widened the beam angle from 10° to 30°, allowing for the entire wall to be flooded with colour.

This Briteq BT Chroma fixture features red, green, blue, and lime LEDs, offered a wide range of colors and lighting effects. This answered our customers request to select any colour they desired for the illumination.

Jeremy Graham, Technical Lighting Designer, was tasked to find a control system that allowed the Hospital crew to choose different colours and effects. The brief was to enable projecting one colour on the left tower while having a different colour on the right. For example, they were looking to light one tower Blue and the other White to illustrate the colours of the NHS logo , or create the colours of a national flag, such as the Ukraine Cyan and Yellow.  In addition, the desk had to create effects such light dimming, or the colour spectrum cycling.

Jeremy chose the Colour Cue 2 lighting desk by Showtec

The Colour Cue 2 offers a variety of easy-to-use preset buttons for various colours while allowing for complex designs and chases. By using a desk, we were able to create 2x2 groups of lights, and configure them to work as sets. This meant giving the hospital simple and slick control of the lighting at the touch of a button, without having to be a professional, qualified lighting designer.

Once programmed, the Colour Cue 2 desk controlled fixtures perfectly, creating a magnificent projection of light and colour in the two sets. The desk quickly changed colours of each group and the dimmer fader adjusted the intensity to suit the canvas they were to project on. Finally, using the record function, Jeremy programmed a rotating Red, White and Blue of the national flag and a red, green and blue rotation for a Christmas scene.  Each could then cycle on the towers independantly, or together in unison.

Getting Things Ready

With the programming ready, it was time to configure for the outdoors. The fixture needed to be adapted for the weather conditions. Considering the unpredictable weather prevalent in the South West region, we recognised the need to protect against water ingress, for both the lighting system and cables.

To safeguard against moisture and maintain the longevity of the installation, the BT Chroma Fixtures input/outputs were swapped with a hard-wired adapter with waterproof glands, an optional extra supplied by Briteq. Each were then connected with power and DMX cable extension leads that were IP65.  The distance from one tower to the other was more than 50 metres so getting the right voltage and amps was important to ensure the illumination didn't faulter. We als needed to make this managable for the installers by offering smaller lengths of extension cables that could be daisy chained together. But we then had to make sure it was a reliable and weather resistant connection.  We used both multiple 32Amp IP67 extension leads and a clever adpation of an IP68 cable joiner for DMX cable.  This attention-to-detail made sure that the lighting system's durability and performance would be unaffected by the challenging climate conditions.

In addition, the control desk that changed the lighting design needed to be in view of the lighting design so that the Hospital crew could see the changes they applied.  Therefore, the Colour Cue 2 desk was enclosed within an outdoor weatherproof electrics box. The unit was connected to a permanent mains supply on a separate circuit so that the crew can switch off the lights during the day but keep the desk and its programming running.

Finally, one last modification. A glare shield was added so that the light was encased within the area of the tower, preventing light from straying. 

Delivering Our Masterpiece

Jeremy made a personal trip to the Hospital to make delivery and train the Hospital crew in using the desk. Firstly, he guided the team throught the components and then instructed them on the use of the lights and desk. Once the team were comfrotable with the basics of programming, Jeremy left them with a short guide so that the team could use in the future. The technicians had everything they needed to place, connect up and use the lighting system. While our provision of the system was complete, all that was needed next was for the hospital crew to install.

Jeremy checked-in a few months later and received warm, complementary feedback about the lights.  The team at Derriford Hospital remarked about how they finally installed the electrics box for the desk in a spot where they could see the lighting display.  They also, provided a number of images and a video of the illumination.

Conclusion

With the illumination in place, the Hospital lighting display project beams of light and changing colours, for all to see. Our system not only met our customers expectations, it excelled in its origination and implementation. Its durable make-up will stand the test of time and the light will fill the night sky around Derriford with a visual spectauclar, as far as the eye can see.

If you're looking to install exterior lighting, no matter the size, no project is too big or too small. We would love to hear from you.  Contact Jeremy and Essential Supplies on 01752 817 140 or email [email protected] for more information.

Images courtesy of the University Hospital NHS Derriford, Plymouth.