Case studies

Lighting with Colour In East London (1/2/2007)

By Morban Intelligent Living and Dynalite

Does the onset of winter make you feel blue? Do the stresses of everyday living make you see red? Colours are used to describe all sorts of feelings, and for property developer and holistic designer Claire Harrigan, the interior colour of your home should be as easily changeable as your mood, since the space around you plays an important role in how you feel in mind, body and spirit.

When working on her latest project in East London which featured on Channel 4's Property Ladder programme, Claire realised that the only way to achieve this sort of flexibility within the home, short of redecorating everyday, was through the use of different coloured light. The challenge then was to find a simple way to control the lighting in the living space so that the user could not only reflect how they felt at that moment in time, but through the use of changing colour combinations, actually have a positive influence on their mood and overall well-being.

Morban Intelligent Living was called upon to find a solution to this brief and the one that they have expertly implemented is an impressive array of different LED fittings, all controlled by a Dynalite lighting control system.

Environmentally conscious Claire felt that the energy-efficient and long-lasting LED fittings provided 'purer' and 'cleaner' light than conventional halogens, and through the use of dimming and RGB (Red/Green/Blue) colour changes powered by the Dynalite system, she could create the lighting effects she desired. Claire is also a firm believer in what she calls 'Electromagnetic Pollution' generated from all mains wiring, and the negative effects this has on us. The low-voltage LEDs and Dynalite control network, all installed with shielded cable, provided an excellent replacement for a conventional scheme, thus alleviating the effects significantly.

The downstairs living space of the East London property features dimmable pure white LED spotlights and RGB LED strips at ceiling height and ground level, providing a wash of colour on the pure white walls. All of these are controlled directly from the Dynalite system. The LED spotlights are dimmed via 1-10V signals from the Dynalite DDBC1200 controller, whereas the colour change LEDs are driven directly from a Dynalite DDLEDC605 LED controller.

Dimmable pure white LED spotlights and RGB LED strips at ceiling height and ground level provide a wash of colour on the pure white walls.

A single Dynalite Revolution Panel with a white glass finish provides a simple, sleek and contemporary user interface for individually selecting up to 144 different colour combinations. This is done by scrolling through 12 different predetermined colours using a pair of buttons on the panel - one for the high-level LEDs and one for the low-level. Also available from the Panel are a number of static and dynamic preset scenes aimed at providing the ideal environment for everyday living, whatever the mood.

Dynalite Revolution Panel

In the same way as the downstairs, the master bedroom shows off more colour change LED lighting to set various scenes and highlight certain architectural features of the room. In the master en-suite is the so-called 'Happy Shower'. This free-standing luxury shower is illuminated by RGB LED strips behind white opaque glass, which at the touch of a button on a Revolution Panel, will perform a program of subtle colour changes to either revitalise and invigorate the user in the morning, or relax and soothe them at night.

Changing the mood in the Happy Shower using RGB LED strips behind white opaque glass

Throughout the rest of the house, Morban has integrated the lighting system with the security system via a single RS232 connection using the Dynalite DNG232 Network Gateway. When the house is occupied, the security sensors enable automated lighting control in the entrance hall and pathway, lighting throughout the communal areas at night. When unoccupied, the same sensors monitor movement and entry points, and in the event of an intruder alarm, the security system alerts the owner by telephone at the same time as flashing all of the lights. Likewise, if lights are left on by mistake, using the same technology, a simple phone call to the house can be used to turn them off again.

www.morban.co.uk for Morban Intelligent Living
www.dynalite.eu for Dynalite Europe