Electricity loading has been significantly reduced within the world's tallest twin building through the use of a presence-detecting light control system from Ex-Or
LightSpot presence detection control systems from lighting management specialist Ex-Or have been installed extensively throughout Kuala Lumpur’s 88-storey Petronas Towers, the world’s tallest twin building.
When built in 1998 it was the tallest man-made structure in the world: one tower houses the HQ of Petronas, the Malaysian Government-owned oil and gas company, while the other tower is occupied by a number of companies including Boeing, IBM, Microsoft and Reuters.
Ex-Or LightSpot sensors have been installed in all cellular offices, meeting rooms, pantry areas and designated smoking areas in more than 40 floors in each of the twin towers. The contract to supply the equipment was awarded to Honeywell E D & S Malaysia — a sister company of Ex-Or within Honeywell — by the Kuala Lumpur City Centre Property Management Team which is responsible for Petronas Towers. Installation was carried out by Daya Urus, the maintenance subsidiary of the Urban Development Authority of Malaysia.
Malaysia’s built infrastructure is developing so fast that it is outgrowing the country’s ability to generate electricity, and so energy saving and going green has become a priority in the country. The Kuala Lumpur City Centre Property Management Team recognised that lighting accounts for a significant portion of the office building’s electricity costs and similarly identified a tremendous opportunity to reduce this cost.
Eliminating unnecessary lighting use
Ex-Or LightSpot presence detectors help eliminate the unnecessary use of lighting by responding to the movements that occur when an area is occupied. Anyone entering a controlled area automatically activates the lighting and subsequently sustains it by even the smallest movements they make as they go about their normal activity. When they leave, the lights automatically switch off, and will come on again only when the area is occupied once more.
The LightSpot installation at Petronas Towers was enhanced by the inclusion of photocells which hold off the lights around the glass perimeter of the building to take advantage of high levels of natural light, so providing additional energy saving. It is estimated that lighting load savings of between 40 and 60 per cent are now being achieved in the areas monitored by Ex-Or LightSpot.
Speed of installation, minimal disruption to occupants and reliability in operation were the key factors taken into account when the contract was awarded, according to Honeywell E D & S Malaysia’s project specification manager Elaine Leong.
“The contract had to be completed in a tight four-week period, and this allowed just ten minutes’ installation time in each cellular office,” she said. “This was achieved by removing the ceiling panels, installing the Ex-Or sensors on the panels in non-working areas of the building, then reinstalling the wired-up ceiling panels. This meant that office workers were not inconvenienced during the installation process.”
