MHA Lighting’s managing director Tom Harrison highlights the advantages for electrical and building service providers and contractors who develop commercial relationships with lighting partners.

When you consider the ever increasing size of buildings that clients are seeking products and services for, and the operating hours expected from the lighting, the savings gained from offering LED are significant enough to grab the attention of the customer. Further optimise the scheme with intelligent controls, not to mention the impressive reduction in CO2 production, and LED almost sells itself.

By partnering with a reputable LED lighting supplier many electrical and building services providers are taking advantage of a huge market opportunity to provide high quality, low energy light engines that their clients see the value in paying for – it’s a win-win scenario for all parties.
MHA Lighting, for example, has partnered with Bolton based Cell Security on numerous installations within a wealth of custodial and detention environments across the world.

Whilst MHA has helped Cell Security to offer its customers a bespoke LED lighting solution, Cell Security has helped us to ensure each luminaire complies with the Home Office Standards for Police Stations, Magistrates Courts, Crown Courts, Prisons, HM Armed Forces, Custom and Excise, and any buildings that require a detention facility.
In addition, CSL Healthcare, a subsidiary of Cell Security, offers a range of solutions designed to meet the requirements of the Mental Health Services environment. All MHA Lighting’s products within this environment must be ‘safe’ for service users, as well as being robust and impact resistant - each product needs to have ligature resisting features, whilst maintaining a non-institutional appearance and providing a therapeutic environment for service users.

The luminaire specifications are very precise. The luminaire must be designed so that nothing can be tied or attached to them and that holes can’t be burnt in diffusers. At the same time the positive physical and psychological attributes of low glare LED lighting are increasingly being recognised as being beneficial to the wellbeing of patients and in a custodial environment on levels of anti-social behaviour.

Working closely with Cell Security, MHA Lighting has met the task of offering three lux levels for CSL’s customers – 500 lux for cell deep clean, 300 lux for everyday use and 15 lux for night time to create a 'lights out' environment while providing adequate light for healthcare professionals or officers to carry out checks.
MHA Lighting has also ensured that the lux level can be reduced to 10 per cent when the room is not occupied, with new driver technology making it a lot easier for LED manufacturers to dim without flicker and offer the client complete control over light levels.

Installing and fixing lights in prisons is no mean feat and disruption here needs to be kept to a minimum. This maintenance challenge means Cell Security’s clients need high quality components with a proven track record, all backed up by comprehensive warranties.

Steve Wagg, export and systems manager at Cell Security, said, 'To install lighting into prisons the light housings need to go through several tests to comply with the Ministry of Justice specifications. Each housing needs to be IP65 rates / IK10+ tested and also ligature resisting.

'As such, it’s essential that we work with approved suppliers that are able to deliver on time, quality products with full traceability of components.

'MHA Lighting has gone the extra mile to ensure their products meet our strict specifications, supplying a bespoke solution for many of our lighting upgrades within custodial, detention and healthcare environments.'