Light revolution in the EUREF gasometer – sustainability meets high-tech › ProMediaNews

The gasometer on the EUREF campus in Berlin is literally shining in new splendor. The revitalization of the 1910 gas storage facility into an exclusive event location combines innovative technology and sustainable, aesthetic lighting design. The centerpiece of the installation are 850 lights from the Sirius series by GDS Pioneering Light.

Jens Breetz, head of event technology at EUREF-Campus Berlin, is looking for VisionTwo, GDS' German sales partner, as a partner for the lighting installations. Anke Schierenbeck was in charge of the team, and Alexander Asche, the technical project manager there, supported the lighting calculations for the design concepts.

850 luminaires for 1100 m²

The EUREF Gasometer's event space of around 1,100 m² offers space for up to 2,200 guests and, in addition to a sky lounge with a roof terrace at a height of 66 m, has several conference, exhibition and catering areas as well as the central forum as a multifunctional auditorium. Thanks to its outstanding lighting quality, the Gasometer should also be able to withstand the high demands of professional TV studios and production facilities.

All lighting installations in the hall, foyer and conference room areas were coordinated to underline the architectural character of the building. Thanks to the use of energy-saving LED driver systems, the energy consumption of the entire hall lighting in the forum is only 210W in standby mode; at full load, power consumption of up to 10kW is planned. The more than 850 luminaires and their associated driver and control systems were manufactured by the British manufacturer GDS Pioneer Light.

““Consistency in the lighting design is particularly important in order to highlight the architectural features of the gasometer,” explains Breetz. The Sirius series from GDS was chosen because it allows for a full RGB color mix in addition to a variable color temperature of 2700K to 5000K. “The accentuated lighting of the columns with color gives the listed building a special character and underlines its historical significance,” says Breetz, praising the final lighting design.

Anke Schierenbeck also remembers: “The integration of our manufacturer GDS by the renowned planning office theapro GmbH and the awarding of the integration contract to our long-standing system partner PIK AG was a win-win situation for everyone.” “So we were able to overcome all challenges together and meet all requirements,” she says, summarizing the cooperation between the companies involved.

The new lighting concept in the Gasometer should also set new standards in terms of innovation and sustainability. As a European Energy Forum, the EUREF Campus Berlin already has the energy transition in its name and forms a blueprint for the CO₂-neutral world of tomorrow. The campus has been meeting the German government's CO₂ climate targets for 2045 since 2014.

To ensure this, the DriveHub system, which is unique in this form, was used in conjunction with the bidirectional IPM² control protocol from GDS. In addition to the power supply, control and data signals are also transmitted via the existing cabling. Compared to conventional LED drivers, this results in an increase in efficiency of over 30%. An important advantage of the DriveHub is its power factor of 0.99. For conventional LEDs and drivers, this is extremely low at 0.6. Overall, the CO₂ savings increase by a further 17.3 tons, a reduction of 26% compared to standard LEDs. In addition, the remote control of the DriveHub, maintenance and personnel costs should be reduced to a minimum.