Big Dreamers Day Nursery

Project Overview:
Big Dreamers Day Nursery, a vibrant and nurturing childcare facility, recently underwent a comprehensive lighting renovation to enhance both the aesthetics and functionality of its interior spaces. With a vision to create a comfortable, stimulating, and safe environment for young children, the nursery sought a lighting solution that could adapt to various activities throughout the day while contributing to a calm and welcoming atmosphere. Ansell Lighting provided the perfect solution with advanced lighting products and OCTO smart technology, ensuring the lighting system was energy-efficient, versatile, and easy to manage.

The Lighting Challenge:
The primary challenge for Big Dreamers Day Nursery was to design a lighting system that would meet the varying needs of different rooms and activities. In the early years’ educational setting, lighting plays a critical role in creating environments conducive to learning, play, rest, and care. The nursery needed a solution that was flexible, allowing for lighting to be adjusted depending on the time of day or the activity taking place. Additionally, the system had to be child-friendly and ensure no harsh glares or excessive brightness that could discomfort the children.

Energy efficiency was also a key concern, as the nursery wanted to reduce operating costs and contribute to sustainability while ensuring safety and regulatory compliance.

Ansell Lighting’s Solution:
The solution centered around two key products — Pace Tunable White 600×600 Panels and Vantage CCT Downlights, both integrated into their OCTO Smart Lighting system. This combination provided the nursery with an adaptable and intuitive lighting system capable of addressing all their needs.

1. Pace 600×600 Tunable White Panels:
   The Pace 600×600 Tunable White Panels were chosen for their versatility and ability to provide a range of white light temperatures, from warm white (3000K) to cool white (6000K). This tunable functionality allowed the nursery staff to adjust the lighting in different rooms depending on the activity—cooler lighting for playtime and more energizing activities, and warmer, softer lighting during rest periods. The sleek design and recessed installation meant the lights blended seamlessly with the modern interior of the nursery, creating a clean and uniform look.

• Tunable White Functionality: The tunable feature helped the nursery adjust the color temperature to align with the natural circadian rhythms of the children, promoting better rest and focus throughout the day.
• Energy Efficiency: With an efficiency of up to 100 lumens per watt and low power consumption, these panels helped the nursery reduce energy costs.
• Long Lifespan: The robust design of the Pace panels, featuring a lifespan of up to 50,000 hours, ensured that the nursery wouldn’t need frequent replacements, minimizing disruption.

2. Vantage CCT Downlights:
   The Vantage CCT Downlights were installed in key areas such as classrooms, hallways, and breakout areas to provide focused lighting where needed. These downlights featured CCT (Correlated Color Temperature) tunability, offering adjustable color temperatures from 3000K to 6000K, similar to the Pace panels, ensuring consistency across different lighting zones.

• Superior Lighting Control: The Vantage downlights provided flexibility to change the lighting ambiance quickly, which was especially useful in spaces that required different moods—such as brighter light during active learning periods and softer light during storytelling or rest times.
  Slim and Minimalistic Design: These downlights featured a discreet, slim design, which suited the modern, minimalist aesthetic of the nursery. Their ability to be flush-mounted also ensured safety for the children, avoiding any protrusions that could pose a hazard.

3. OCTO Smart Lighting System:
   Ansell’s OCTO Smart Lighting system was the backbone of the nursery’s new lighting scheme. OCTO enabled complete control of the lighting through smart devices, offering a range of functionalities that made managing the nursery’s lighting incredibly easy and intuitive. Using OCTO, the staff could schedule lighting scenes, dim lights as needed, and even control the lights remotely, providing ultimate flexibility.

• Smart Control: OCTO allowed for pre-programmed lighting settings for different times of the day—brighter in the morning for a more stimulating environment and dimmer in the evening as the nursery wound down.
• Energy Savings: By leveraging motion sensors, OCTO could ensure that lights were only on when necessary, further enhancing energy efficiency.
• Scalability: The OCTO system’s scalability meant that the nursery could expand the lighting system in the future, adding more lights or zones as needed without overhauling the infrastructure.

Results:
The installation of Ansell’s lighting products has transformed Big Dreamers Day Nursery into a more inviting and efficient space. With the tunable white functionality, staff can now tailor the lighting to support the children’s various activities, promoting both active engagement and relaxation as required. The smart control provided by OCTO has also reduced energy usage, leading to significant savings on energy bills while ensuring a sustainable operation. The system has also simplified the management of the lighting, allowing staff to focus more on the children rather than adjusting lights manually.

Testimonial:
A representative from Big Dreamers Day Nursery commented, “The new lighting system from Ansell has made a huge difference. We now have the flexibility to create different environments for the children depending on what they’re doing. The OCTO system is incredibly easy to use, and we’ve already noticed a reduction in our energy bills. It’s been a fantastic investment.”

Conclusion:
Big Dreamers Day Nursery’s lighting upgrade, featuring Ansell Lighting’s Pace Tunable White Panels, Vantage CCT Downlights, and the OCTO Smart Lighting system, has successfully met the nursery’s needs for adaptability, energy efficiency, and user-friendly control. This case study highlights how advanced lighting solutions can contribute to both the practical and emotional needs of a childcare environment, ensuring that children have the right light to thrive in every part of their day.