Lighting for schools and child care facilities: Children's garden „Sonnenwiese“

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Lighting for daycare centres, including children's play areas, while maximizing preschool pedagogical lighting needs.

Playful light for the Guxhagen children's garden

Even our youngest children need the right light for their first learning experiences. However, the lighting system at the ‘Sonnenwiese’ nursery school in Guxhagen was showing serious signs of age: Its efficiency had been halved over time due to dirt and material fatigue. Spare parts for the old system were no longer available. Finally, the sale of T5 and T8 fluorescent tubes arrived in August 2023. One thing was clear: the ‘Sonnenwiese’ needed to be converted to a modern and energy-efficient LED solution. The installation was carried out by the municipality's own resources.

With HADLER as the perfect project partner

The municipality of Guxhagen chose HADLER as its partner for the luminaire refurbishment at a very early stage. The reasons were very clear: a product made in Germany along with expert lighting support. In addition, the Luxsystem SL 20.3 LED luminaire solved all the lighting challenges for the daycare centre in a single solution.

Considerably less dust accumulation was appealing for the higher mounting heights which are a common problem in many children's play, pedagogical areas, and group rooms. The Guxhagen daycare centre ceilings being relatively high meant the lighting needed to be suspended and thick layers of dust kept accumulating on the older 15 centimeter wide linear luminaires. Expensive difficult maintenance was required that including wiping down the suspended luminaires. This is where the SL 20.3 LED comes into its own: thanks to the slim linear from factor, offering dust hardly any space to settle. An opal cover protected the LED light sources from particulates.

The interchangeability of the LED light sources was also a critical factor in luminaire determination. In many LED luminaires, the LED circuit boards are permanently installed into the housing. In the event of failure or at the end of their service life, the entire luminaire has to be disposed of, resulting in significant extra costs and material waste. The SLS LED Luxsystem lamps are different: with each separate light source installing into the luminaire housings just like an SLS T5 fluorescent lamp. The LED lamps can be replaced at any time.

This makes the investment in the Luxsystem SL 20.3 a very sustainable and future-proof all-round illumination solution: The old luminaires provided only downward light, leaving the ceilings considerably unlit. The impression of the room now is considerably better and friendlier with the SL 20.3 solution. The SLS LED lamps in SL 20.3 luminaires achieve almost rotation symmetrical overall illumination as the beam angle is around 330 degrees. This means that there is a considerable indirect light component, which ensures softer shadows and brighter illumination of the ceiling.

The daycare centre's lighting conceptualization included additional advantages of the linear LED lux system which became very apparent during the implementation of design of the daycare centre.

The diverse design options in the ‘Sonnenwiese’ daycare centre where every room is different and has a different usages. The many ways in which the minimalist LED light line can be combined and arranged were ultimately also the inspiration for the daycare centre's lighting concept. Different arrangements are now installed in every room: sometimes the LED light line hangs in a crazy zigzag or X-shape in the group rooms, sometimes it runs in a straight line in parallel styles even the toilets or more mundane spaces. ´Themes can be interpreted in many different ways,’ says planner Ms Engelhardt-Krok from the Guxhagen building authority, commenting on the many possibilities of the luminaire system. Versatility, playfulness and appealing, while easy to clean and maintain. Focus was also on the creation of a pleasant working environment. Overall important factors for a lighting concept in a children's spaces.

Like dimmability: Thanks to the dimmability of the SL 20.3 LED, different lighting scenes can easily be implemented in the daycare centre. The creation of special light for the children, for example when a child in the group has a birthday, or when the season dictates a different mood or when it is time for the daily nap are all easy to do after the LED luminaire refurbishments.

And last but not least: the carefully planned refurbishment by the Guxhagen municipal building authority very significantly reduced the costs for electricity and operation compared to the old lighting solution. It easily fulfills the legal requirements for energy efficiency and sustainability required for such facilities. And even more importantly, the improved lighting quality facilitates the daily work of the teaching staff and the playful essential learning environment needed by children. Playing around under the playful SL 20.3 LED light formations is quite fun.