Scolmore’s EVO LED bulkheads save time and money for social landlord

With responsibility for over 4,000 domestic properties, and in the wake of the Grenfell Tower tragedy, Fife-based social landlord, Kingdom Housing Association, decided to act immediately to increase the general and emergency lighting provision in all their communal areas, over and above any likely guidance emanating from the Hackitt report.

The aim was to retrofit emergency lighting into those existing blocks of three storeys and above. The challenge they faced was to procure a product that did not require rewiring, as most of these blocks were wired in two core cabling.

With the need to keep costs, installation time and disruption to a minimum, and with various products given consideration, it was Scolmore’s innovative EVO LED bulkheads which provided the solution to this full refit project.

Andy Walls, Kingdom Housing Association’s property maintenance manager, responsible for overseeing the installation project, commented: “We found the Inceptor EVO LED Bulkhead range was ideal in meeting with our specifications. The fitting is capable of working on two core cabling whilst still providing battery supply for the emergency operation of the fittings. The fitting is also capable of supplying a background light during the day, as it has the capability to have the LEDs on at a reduced rating or turned off fully. This suited our needs as we have several blocks that have darker areas and this would also provide better security and comfort to our tenants.”

The Inceptor EVO Bulkhead was designed by Scolmore with the contractor very much in mind. It is quick to install and simple to use and offers a number of features and benefits unmatched by competitor products. As well as integrating the control gear and the light source within the diffuser, the bulkhead has the added benefit of a Flow plug which allows for fast and simple connection and disconnection for testing and maintenance of the luminaire.

Andy continued: “The return on investment projected by Scolmore was also appealing. The projection on the life of the units is 50,000 hours on average lifespan of the fitting which means they won’t need to be replaced for 10 years. With no maintenance visits required to replace the old 2D Fluorescent fittings approximately every two years, this more than pays for the new units with no ongoing maintenance costs.

“We also looked at the environmental aspect of the project and concluded that we would be reducing the pollution to the environment from not having to recycle the old fluorescent tubes.”

scolmore.com