Many schools across the UK still have older service raft systems where fluorescent or LED lighting is integrated directly into metal ceiling panels. These systems can remain perfectly serviceable, but upgrading the lighting presents a particular challenge.
Rafts vary considerably in size, construction and layout. When the original luminaires reach the end of their useful life, a suitable replacement is rarely something that can simply be ordered from a lighting manufacturer.
Connected Light has developed a bespoke fabrication service to solve this problem, designing, manufacturing and testing replacement gear trays to suit individual school raft systems.
Working with ETS Group, Connected Light is currently supporting lighting upgrades across a number of schools where different raft designs require individually engineered solutions.
Solving the problem of obsolete school raft lighting
Older school buildings often contain lighting systems that were designed around the architecture of the building itself. In service raft installations, the luminaire may form part of a larger metal ceiling assembly containing other building services.
Replacing the complete raft can therefore create unnecessary complexity.
The challenge becomes finding a lighting solution that works with what is already there.
Connected Light can assess the existing raft and develop a replacement gear tray specifically for its dimensions and requirements. This provides a practical route for upgrading older fluorescent or LED luminaires when standard replacement products are unavailable.
Rather than treating an unusual or obsolete raft design as a reason to replace the complete system, the Connected Light team can investigate how the existing installation can be adapted.
Bespoke gear trays designed for each school
There is no universal gear tray design for these installations.
Even across schools with apparently similar service rafts, differences in dimensions, aperture sizes, existing controls, emergency lighting arrangements and diffuser designs can mean that each project needs its own solution.
Connected Light’s professional lighting design and fabrication capabilities allow replacement gear trays to be developed around the individual installation.
The solution can take account of:
- the dimensions and construction of the existing service raft
- required light output
- existing or new lighting controls
- emergency lighting requirements
- LED technology
- existing louvres or diffusers
- newly designed or adapted louvre and diffuser arrangements
Each replacement can then be manufactured and tested before being supplied for the project.
Supporting ETS Group across multiple school projects
Connected Light is pleased to be supporting ETS Group with this approach across several schools in the region.
The variety of existing raft systems means the solution cannot simply be duplicated from one school to the next. Each design is assessed individually, allowing the lighting equipment to be adapted to the requirements of the building.
This collaborative approach gives ETS Group access to specialist lighting design and fabrication expertise without forcing a standard product into an installation it was never designed to fit.
It also reflects Connected Light’s wider experience of delivering lighting solutions for education, where older buildings, existing infrastructure and operational requirements frequently require a more considered approach than simply replacing one luminaire with another.
More than a simple LED replacement
The opportunity to upgrade a service raft can also be used to improve the performance and flexibility of the lighting.
Depending on the requirements of the school, new gear trays can be designed to provide enhanced lumen output while incorporating compatibility with existing or upgraded smart lighting control systems.
Different emergency lighting arrangements can also be accommodated according to the requirements of the project, supported by Connected Light’s wider emergency lighting compliance expertise.
Louvre and diffuser designs can also be retained, adapted or redesigned where appropriate, giving the project team greater flexibility over the finished installation.
The result is a bespoke solution developed around the building rather than requiring the building to accommodate a standard luminaire.
Extending the useful life of existing school infrastructure
Older school service rafts are sometimes assumed to be redundant simply because replacement lighting components are no longer readily available.
That does not necessarily mean the complete installation needs to be removed.
Connected Light’s combination of lighting design, technical knowledge and bespoke fabrication provides another option. Existing raft systems can be assessed individually and a replacement lighting solution developed around their dimensions, controls and operational requirements.
For schools, estates teams, lifecycle managers and contractors facing similar challenges, this can provide a practical route for modernising legacy lighting where an off-the-shelf replacement does not exist.
Connected Light can support individual schools or wider education estates with the design and manufacture of bespoke gear trays for existing LED and fluorescent raft lighting systems.
