Awards 2022 - Infrastructure

>> View all winners of the DALI Lighting Awards 2022

The Winner of the Infrastructure category is Delmatic for the Elizabeth Line, a new 118 km high speed rail network for London and South-East England.

This is Europe’s largest infrastructure project, lit entirely by LEDs and the complete installation uses DALI control to optimise efficiency, safety and aesthetics.

Delmatic DALI systems provide energy-efficient management and monitoring of normal and emergency lighting throughout the Elizabeth line stations, using more than 35,000 DALI assets, including luminaires, sensors, switches and controllers.

The project team regarded lighting design and lighting control as critical, not only for passenger safety but also for enhancing the experience within the subterranean environment.  Several judges had travelled on the new line and could testify to the quality of the lighting.

Many DALI features were employed, including real-time monitoring and diagnostics, as well as occupancy and light-level sensors. The DALI systems integrate with the central battery network to provide integrated emergency light testing and monitoring via the DALI protocol.

Integration with the BMS enables the lighting network to share status and fault intelligence with the rail command centre. The DALI systems also integrate with the fire alarm systems to aid wayfinding and evacuation.

The project was the first of this scale to embed sustainable thinking from the outset. The stations achieved BREEAM “very good” rating – a first for underground stations – and DALI contributed to this achievement.

The Infrastructure category featured several transport projects, including rail links and subways, a cargo terminal and a parking garage.

One of the subway projects, the Hangzhou line by Shangai Euchips, was Highly Commended by the judges, who noted the quality of the lighting design and varied usage of DALI.

For example, lights in the passenger waiting area are dimmed when no-one is using the seating.

Overall, DALI control provides a safe and comfortable lighting environment according to passenger flow, while also minimizing energy consumption.

During the judging process, any project that is difficult to compare with more conventional installations, but which deserves recognition, is eligible for a Judges’ Special Mention award.

This year, the Judges’ Special Mention went to SPL Lighting for its installation of a DALI-based flashing LED system, which illuminates the platform gap at one of the main stations on the Hong Kong metro system.

The judges were impressed by this unconventional use of DALI to create a visual reminder for passengers. When a train is in the station and the platform screen door is opened, the RGBW lighting flashes in blue to draw the passengers’ attention and visually remind them of the platform gap.

The lights are centrally controlled and can produce dynamic effects, or white lighting to enable track maintenance.

DALI was chosen because it can reliably perform in such a harsh environment, and withstand the enormous electrical interference that is experienced on metro platforms in daily operation.

As an open protocol, DALI permits multi-vendor support. Also, simple cabling makes maintenance simpler and more cost-effective.