Expansion of the high-tech facility Prodrive Technologies at the Science Park in Eindhoven

Text: Lieke van zuilekom I Visuals: Isolectra

“Pluggable, intelligent and with minimal energy consumption”
The modern tech company Prodrive Technologies from Eindhoven was at risk of outgrowing its existing location. The organisation's high-tech facility at the Science Park in Eindhoven was therefore significantly expanded. The impressive addition - with a surface area of 21,000 m2 and a height of 35 metres - has seven floors and is connected directly to the existing building. To keep the project moving quickly, prefab concrete was used whenever possible. Additionally, it was decided to use a pluggable lighting installation with circa two thousand inlay fixtures. The annex was completed in February of 2023.

The project was completed by Wijnen Bouw. ETB Willem Bos was responsible for the design and completion of the electrotechnical installations. From the lighting and power systems to the control cables, data cables (copper and fibreglass) and cables for the access control, fire alarm and burglary alarm installations. “In other words, anything connected with a cable,” says Patrick van Asseldonk, business leader at ETB Willem Bos. The all-round electrotechnical installation company from Someren contacted Isolectra to supply the cables for the light fixtures.

Suspended ceilings with inlay fixtures
“The annex was designed as a cleanroom environment,” Van Asseldonk says. “With the exception of the seventh floor, the entire building features suspended ceilings with Signify inlay fixtures. To connect all these inlay fixtures, we used Isolectra's Wieland coupling cables. We have been using these cables for our projects for many years.”

Saving lots of time
“Like hotels, hospitals and other non-residential buildings, office buildings like the one for Prodrive Technologies are ideally suited for pluggable installation,” says Jordi Blanker, Account Manager at Isolectra. “After all, such buildings often feature repeating patterns. Lighting installations, for example, can easily be connected together. This allows us to save lots of time, without compromising on the system's quality, reliability or lifespan. For Prodrive Technologies’ expansion, we opted for a DALI light system with motion sensors and circa two thousand light fixtures. Isolectra supplied the coupling cables, connectors, adapters and prefab junction boxes.”

Wieland GST18^® series
“We were brought on board at a very early stage during this project,” says Blanker. “Based on the installation design and in close collaboration with project leader Patrick van Asseldonk and work planner Mark de Gouw from ETB Willem Bos, we determined the right type of pluggable system and the right installation method for this project. We created several offers and designs. In the end, it was decided to use our Wieland GST18^® series with three- to five-pin connectors. Wholesaler Koninklijke Oosterberg B.V. was responsible for the just-in-time delivery of the components for each floor.”

Intelligent control and minimal energy consumption
“On each floor, we installed around 260 inlay light fixtures,” says Van Asseldonk. “The light fixtures are divided into twenty rows of up to fourteen fixtures each. We also installed circa fifteen KNX motion sensors on each floor. The motion sensors are connected to KNX DALI Gateways, which control the lighting installation in zones and determine the correct light level per fixture.” As soon as motion is detected, the light fixtures are immediately activated at 100% of their preset power, he explains. “If no motion is detected for fifteen minutes, the light fixtures will automatically dim to 10% of their maximum output. They will switch off entirely after thirty minutes, so no energy is wasted anywhere in the building.”

Combined continuous and DALI voltage
In most cases, two cables are used per inlay fixture, Van Asseldonk says: a standard three-way Wieland power cable that supplies continuous voltage to the fixture and a two-way Wieland DALI cable for the DALI controls. “This project marks the first time that we combined these cables. Isolectra supplied five-core control cables with five-pin connectors. Signify also added five-pin connectors to its inlay fixtures, which allowed for a fast installation.”

Prefab junction boxes
A prefab junction box is installed at the end of each row of light fixtures. These junction boxes come pre-wired from Isolectra. “In these junction boxes, the continuous voltage and the DALI voltage are combined in a single five-pin output, which allows for a pluggable connection to all light fixtures.” The use of pluggable installation guarantees maximum flexibility, Van Asseldonk emphasises. “In the future, we can easily move one or more light fixtures without having to replace every cable. With this solution, we have accommodated one of our client's most important wishes.”

Connecting to emergency lighting
Another unique feature is that emergency lighting is incorporated into the rows of light fixtures at certain points throughout the building. “Although these light fixtures also require continuous voltage, they do not need DALI voltage,” Van Asseldonk says. “That is why we used T-pieces. We connected the five-core control cables to the T-pieces. We then connected one of the outputs to the next light fixture. We connected a five-pin to three-pin adapter to the other output to supply a continuous 230V to the emergency lighting.” These adapters were also supplied by Isolectra.

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