Comprehensive planning and field tests preceded the comprehensive rehabilitation of the transmission building at the Cologne facility. Philips, a long-term lighting provider and partner for illumination questions provided the lighting calculations. Key data were determined from the building circumstances. The positioning and spacing of the individual lights and light strips should not need to be changed, and the number of light inserts was also fixed at 20 lights per strip.
In was important for the company to check the light calculations in a practical test. Walter Focke had the corresponding lights installed on a test surface in order to measure the illumination levels. The occupational health regulations prescribe an illumination level of 500 lux for assembly floors, and 100 lux for walkways and storage areas.
LED lights are, like other illumination sources, subject to aging: thus, they lose luminosity over time. “For this reason,” explains Focke, ”we planned for a reserve in the design. After all, we want to be able to call up the necessary 500 lux in the assembly hall over the entire lifecycle of the lights, so we currently operate the lighting system at 80 percent output.”