Smart Building Technology plays vital role at East Sussex nursing home

A care home for the elderly in Lewes, East Sussex was simply looking to improve lighting conditions for residents, but in the process revolutionised the building with some simple and creative electrical integration.

Project Type

There were two critical elements that the Integrator wanted to incorporate on this project.  Firstly, it was important for them to demonstrate how they could best make use of smart building technology in order to enhance resident care and make the home a more comfortable environment to live. The second was to make the building more energy efficient and contribute towards a reduction in running costs.

Customer Expectations

Elderly residents needed lighting to find the bathroom at night, but it was important for us that only the required lights were switched on as to avoid disturbance to others. Our initial thoughts were to install some form of basic lighting control system that would ensure lights could be switched on when and only in the rooms they were needed.  However, after discussions with the Integrator, it became clear we could do so much more by integrating other elements, such as the emergency call function, into the system.

Customer Comment

The cost of care is an issue for both the local authorities running the home and the families who pay for the care of their relatives. Creating a more energy efficient building is one simple way in which we can reduce costs, so if we can do this and improve the standard of living for our residents at the same time, then its a fantastic result.

Top Features

1. Movement detectors in all rooms ensure that the lights come on automatically in the en-suite bathrooms if a resident gets out of bed during the night.
2. The system also controls the extractor fan in all en-suite bathrooms, switching on with the lights and off after a pre-determined period of time.
3. Meanwhile, to guarantee that lights are never left on unnecessarily in the larger assisted bathrooms and communal toilets, presence detectors have been fitted to switch lights on automatically when someone enters and off again when they leave.
4. All rooms and hallways fitted with large touch sensitive plate light switches with LED backlighting so residents can easily locate them during the night.
5. Scene setting switches in all communal hallways/lounge areas have allowed further energy savings.
6. External lights are controlled with both a light sensor and an event timer that comes on automatically when it goes dark and switches the lights off automatically at the same time every night, further energy wastage.
7. Being able to keep corridor lights switched off at night was another important element in making the building as energy efficient as possible.  Historically they had been left on all night, but with presence detection they are only used when occupied.
8. Integrated nurse call system that when activated, only the lights between the specific resident’s room and reception area are lit, helping to identify where the distress call has originated and illuminating the way.
9. Integrated fire alarm system that illuminates only those sections of the home affected in order to minimize disruption to residents.