Case Gottsunda Centrum, Sweden:  Safer Means Savings

Sallén Elektriska needed a creative approach to light community building at Gottsunda Centrum. Working with Ensto they found a solution.

On the backside of Uppsala’s Gottsunda Centrum shopping center is a community sports center with an exterior climbing wall. While in the daytime it’s a teenager’s dream, at night the area was dark and residents tended to avoid it.

Sallén Elektriska AB, one of Sweden’s largest lighting and installation companies with 225 installers and nearly 50 million euros in turnover, was hired to deliver a solution.

Sallén Project Leader Daniel Ekström inspected the site. Original designs had never considered lighting for the back of Gottsunda Centrum building, only a parking lot light. Ekström would have to be creative. He called in Ensto Area Sales Manager Fredrik Larsson for an opinion.

What the customer wanted

“Fredrik and I spent a few hours at the facility just looking it over,” says Ekström. “We talked a lot about what the customer wanted.”

What the customer wanted was usable space, so the two focused on that. “If the space is too dark people will not use it and not take care of it,” Ekström says. “There’s a retirement home nearby, and those people need to feel safe after dark.”

Ekström and Larsson noticed a ten-centimeter recess in the side of the building, a place fixtures could be installed if they could find the right ones. Larsson suggested an Ensto LED called Jono, a long, thin fixture suitable for places where a high IP class is needed and maintenance is difficult. The recess was a tight space, but he thought Jono would fit.

“We had to use sky lifts to get up there, but Jono fit as if it were made for the space,” says Ekström.

A three-part solution

To light the space, Ekström and Larsson settled on a three-part solution: 75 Jono LED fixtures, six Opera pole-mounted LEDs, and three AVR8 façade LEDs, all installed by one electrician and his assistant.

The three-part solution brought a three-part result: The area feels safe, it’s aesthetically pleasing, and savings are enjoyed from the LED technology.

Ekström and Larsson have worked together for eight years. “Trust is built over time,” says Ekström, “and it facilitates finding the right solutions for clients.”

“It’s what we do everyday,” adds Larsson.

Author: Scott Diel