Centre of culture with pioneering safety concept

Tilburg with its university ranks among the rapidly growing cities in the south of the Netherlands. Theater Tilburg is located at the heart of this shopping and cultural centre in the Province of North Brabant. In addition to the auditorium, the building also houses a concert hall, studio and cinema. This open cultural centre offers the residents of the city and surrounding areas a varied programme that includes more than 300 shows and concerts, and art and film events each year. The theatre was elaborately renovated in 2012 with enormous attention to detail – and the use of INOTEC products.

Back in the 1980s, the city of Tilburg had successfully modernized its administration in a process that attracted attention around the globe and became known as the "Tilburg Model". The system involved managing the administration like a profit-oriented corporate enterprise and was applicable to renovations projects as well, including the Theater Tilburg. When Maikel van Rooijen was planning the modernization, he analysed the requirements in terms of emergency and safety lighting in 2012 and defined the following specifications in line with the "Tilburg Model": Improved fire protection and escape route lighting, use of existing wiring, central monitoring system, lower maintenance costs and lower operating costs.

After comparing a solution with self-contained luminaires to a central power system, the latter was chosen, together with a central monitoring system. Apart from the lower maintenance costs and connection and integration into the central control system, the decision was also prompted by the option to use the existing wiring together with an INOTEC solution.

The emergency lighting in Theater Tilburg is based on the INOTEC CPS 220 / 64 central power system. The central battery supplies power to the safety and emergency exit luminaires. BUS substations were installed to enable the existing wiring to be used by moving the circuits out to individual parts of the building. Each CPUSB 220 / 64 / 2x4A contains two circuits with max. 4A power rating. A three-wire line supplies the circuits and luminaires with power in both mains operation (AC voltage) and emergency operation (DC voltage).

A BUS line connects the appliances to the TFT controller in the central power system and is used to control and monitor them. If the BUS line fails or is interrupted, the CPUSB systems automatically switch to secure operation and all the luminaires are switched on. This solution eliminated the need for extensive new cables.

Unlike a conventional central power system, the circuits are wired from the BUS substations to the luminaires, and not from the control centre. These substations were positioned around the building next to the light distributors that supplied the self-contained luminaires. The existing wiring to the self-contained luminaires then only had to be rerouted to the BUS substations. This procedure not only reduced the installation workload; it also complied with the client's specification of using the existing wiring.

INOTEC solutions enabled best possible satisfaction of the client's requirements. The use of BUS substations made it possible to use the existing wiring, which considerably reduced the installation costs. The central monitoring function, complete with battery control system, significantly reduces the maintenance costs. In addition to offering the required option of dimming, the LED luminaires were also able to considerable reduce the operating costs of this project. Not only the operating costs are lower – the energy costs have also been reduced and the cost of replacing the lamps will decrease by at least 80%. The D.E.R. system also significantly increases the safety of the occupants if they need to evacuate the building.

Maikel van Rooijen is satisfied: 

"We not only managed to improve fire protection, we also implemented a secure and cost-­optimized ­solution for the city of Tilburg with central ­monitoring function. We will continue to do so on future projects."