Belfast Illuminates its City Hall with LED
A revolutionary LED floodlighting system has been installed at Belfast’s City Hall, making it the first building in Europe to use the technology.
Illustration : Photo by K. Mitch Hodge on Unsplash
The new ‘intelligent’ lighting equipment will reduce both the building’s energy bills and its CO2 emissions.
Devised by Philips Electronics, the state-of-the-art LED system allows the historic building to be ‘washed’ in an almost infinite range of colours.
A total of seven iconic European buildings have been chosen to pioneer the new project using the ‘IntelliPower’ lighting equipment. Prior to the City Hall switch-on, the technology had been in use at only two other facilities – both in the US.
The new system will be used to help the city celebrate several events each year including St Patrick’s Day when the building will be coloured green, and the Twelfth of July when it will be illuminated orange and purple.
Among the handful of other dates being recognised are the Chinese New Year (red and yellow), Polish Independence Day (red and white) and Gay Pride (colours of the rainbow).
Speaking just prior to last night’s test, Alderman Robinson said it was a great opportunity from an environmental perspective – saving £14,000 on the council’s annual energy bill, and improving its carbon footprint through a reduction in CO2 production.
He said: “This is the same light system that is used on the Empire State Building, so it not only shows Belfast in a new light, but it puts us on the map with some of the most iconic buildings across the world. It will also deliver an annual reduction of almost 90 tonnes in CO2 emissions, realising half of the council’s annual emission reductions targets from this project alone.”
Funding from the European Union provided £200,000 of the installation’s £330,000 cost.
You may also like
The evolution of public lighting, from torches to smart services
Public lighting has undergone a remarkable transformation over the centuries – and Europe has played a significant role in driving many of the most important advances in this field.
Public lighting models and management in France
The energy consumption of public lighting in France is the second energy expense item for municipalities (after buildings), representing 20% of the energy bill of […]
More efficient public lighting in Karlovac, Croatia, thanks to Smart Energy Performance Contracting
In September 2023, the city of Karlovac has signed its Energy Performance Contract (EPC) for the refurbishment of the public lighting. The scope of the contract is the refurbishment of overall public lighting, consisting of 9.083 luminaires and the displacement of 152 public lighting cabinets that are placed inside the DSO transformer station.
Smart EPC developed standardised contract and tender documentation for public lighting
When incorporating additional energy and non-energy related services into the Smart EPC approach, the complexity of standard EPC projects is further highlighted. These projects involve the realisation of various types of investments under a single contract, posing challenges in accounting, financing, and legal aspects.
Challenges in modernising public lighting in historical areas
With the Smart EPC project, Warsaw aims to replace a few thousand luminaires on the city’s historical streets. But modernising public lighting in historical areas presents unique challenges. What exactly is the process?
Barriers towards smarter and more efficient energy systems
During the “Smart Energy Services” event, Smart EPC met top research organisations and industry partners to present the new cutting-edge smart energy services. The panellists share with us the barriers experienced in their work – and what they consider to be the key to breaking these barriers and fostering confidence in innovative energy solutions.