Based on the design of the Glaxo Wellcome laboratories at Stevenage, the new £11.5 million 4-storey building comprises 16 individual laboratories, each with a sectioned-off 'clean' area where postgraduate students can write up their experiments.

In keeping with this modern chemical research environment, the university was keen to take advantage of the latest developments in lighting technology. According to Robin Stone, Senior Engineer at the University's Building Services Department, T5 lamp technology and some form of emergency-lighting self-test system were key requirements. "As well as using T5 technology for its energy efficiency and extended lamp life, we wanted an emergency lighting self-test system to reduce maintenance costs and improve reliability," he said.

The building services consultant on the project, Ove Arup, was briefed accordingly, and after careful evaluation of products from several major lighting manufacturers, Crompton Lighting was awarded the contract.

Each laboratory was subsequently fitted with 24 Moduspec T5 twin-lamp 1200 x 300mm luminaires, equipped with high-frequency control gear and Category 2 louvres. Delivering the requisite level of 500 lux at the bench top, the lighting scheme provided low-glare, even illumination throughout the laboratories, with uniform luminaire appearance.

About 25% of the luminaires were integral emergency versions incorporating Crompton's Intellem Infra-Red self-test facility, which uses a convenient infra-red hand-held programmer for setup, interrogation and fault display. As well as greatly simplifying the commissioning process, the infra-red programmer can be used to confirm when the last test was carried out and to check when the next test is due.

If any faults are detected by the Intellem system, an audible alarm sounds, and the exact nature of the fault is indicated both by the flashing rate of the red LED on the luminaire, and, at the press of a button, by the 2-line/16-character LCD readout on the hand-held programmer.

"The great benefit of the Intellem Infra-Red system is that it tells you what the problem is without having to take the luminaire down," commented Stone. "It is very simple and very useable."

Apart from the laboratory areas, Crompton Lighting supplied Solstar compact fluorescent downlighters for the adjacent corridors, as well as a variety of other luminaires for use throughout the building, including high-frequency Crompack 5 batten luminaires, Varsity School surface fluorescent luminaires and Bijou, Sidelite and Tufflite surface luminaires for exterior lighting.