Masdar MIST Dhabi, UAE

Delmatic are supplying an advanced Dali Zero Power lighting management and energy optimisation system for the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology (MIST).

Masdar City is the world’s first zero carbon, zero waste, car-free city, powered entirely by renewable energy. The city will use several times less water than is the norm in the country, and aims to produce no waste whatsoever. The shaded walkways and narrow streets create a pedestrian-friendly environment and articulate the tightly planned, compact nature of traditional walled cities: people are encouraged to walk or use the city’s rapid transit system, consisting of electric, driverless vehicles.

MIST is the world’s first university focused on future energy and creates a nucleus of scientific research in advanced energy and sustainability technologies. The campus buildings receive power from rooftop photovoltaics as well as remote solar energy arrays and windmills: wind towers cool outside air before delivering it to residential units and the facilities inside, while a green finger running through the campus helps to control building temperatures.

Sustainability is top of the agenda and the Delmatic system combines the technologies of IP, Lon and Dali to control lighting across the campus including laboratories, teaching & study rooms, and student accommodation. Lighting is related to presence and absence while lighting levels continually adjust to take account of daylight levels.

The system considers every watt of power and Delmatic’s innovative Dali Zero Power modules further reduce energy consumption by eliminating the standby power of digital lighting.

To enhance overall sustainability the Delmatic system logs the number of hours each lamp has been in operation and compares this with the manufacturers’ lamp life data to create recommended relamping schedules: these avoid the premature replacement of luminaires (with the associated environmental & disposal issues) and ensure that luminaires are retired at the optimum point. The system also monitors individual lamp operation and highlights lamp and ballast failure in real time.

The system is fully dynamic and receives signals from the power generation network to initiate real-time load-shedding scenarios: these match demand for power with the finite renewable energy available and selectively dim lighting across the campus to reduce power demand.