ARUNDEL BUILDING, BRIGHTON GENERAL HOSPITAL | Brighton, Sussex

SERVICE: Electrical System Refurbishment - Administration Building

Arundel Building is a general purpose building occupied by Sussex Community NHS Trust, used mainly for administration but also for consulting and treatment.

The electrical power and wiring systems, in this Victorian building, have grown organically over the years to a point where general distribution had become untidy and a large proportion of the switchgear and equipment was obsolete.

This bulk of the project involved tidying up the distribution infrastructure, renewing switchgear and distribution boards and testing and checking final circuits. At the same time, additional spare capacity was built into the installation to future-proof the building for the next few years.

In order to improve energy management, all distribution boards have been fitted with check-meters linked via a radio mesh to a central system for collating, monitoring and reporting. The daily and weekly building energy performance is displayed on a TV screen in the entrance lobby.

The lighting in the common parts was upgraded from switch-start fluorescent with manual switching, to LED fittings switched by presence detectors with integrated daylight override.

The whole project had to be carried out with the building in constant occupation. Consequently, most of the work took place overnight and at weekends.

This project was almost entirely electrical and Freeman Beesley acted as lead consultant providing design, contract administration and cost control.