Moor House Stairwell Lighting Upgrade – Energy Efficient, Always Safe

70% Reduction in Running Costs with Smart LED Stairwell Lighting & Control Systems

Moor House, one of the largest office buildings in the City of London, is home to over 1,600 employees and global financial institutions. Managed by Moor House Management Services (MHMS) for Deka Immobilien, the building needed an energy-saving upgrade to its stairwell lighting system—which had been operating continuously, 24/7.

GCL was selected by Skanska and MHMS to deliver a solution. The brief? Replace compact fluorescent lamps with motion-sensing LED stairwell lighting that maintained safety, reduced environmental impact, and cut costs—without creating dark zones in emergency routes.

Energy Efficient Lighting Project Requirements

GCL was tasked with:
- Replacing twin compact fluorescent lamps with low-energy LED luminaires
- Installing radar-based microwave sensors for reactive lighting
- Ensuring the stairwells remained safely lit 24/7
- Reducing “on-time” without compromising emergency readiness
- Meeting strict health and safety protocols
- Minimising maintenance and system complexity

Key Challenges

Several technical and operational hurdles needed to be overcome:

Keeping stairways clear during installation in case of emergency egress
Maintaining engineer safety in tight, high-traffic vertical shafts
Finding a high-sensitivity microwave sensor that reacted fast
Avoiding black zones while switching from continuous to reactive lighting

The GCL Solution: Energy Efficient Lighting Stairwell Lighting

To address all requirements, GCL:

Installed a 1W permanently lit LED above each stairwell exit for instant illumination
Fitted sensors on each half landing to trigger energy efficient lighting automatically when needed
Pre-configured all systems to switch from continuous lighting to localised activation
Worked in rotating shifts 24/7 to minimise disruption and ensure safe access at all times

Benefits to Moor House and Deka Immobilien

Installing energy efficient lighting helped reduce costs by 70%
Lighting duration cut from 24 hours to approx. 2 hours per day
No dark zones or emergency risk throughout installation
A long-life, low-maintenance stairwell lighting system
Positive environmental and financial outcomes
Strong stakeholder feedback on communication and safety

"Trying to find a solution to the fire escape lights was challenging, GCL provided the solution which has proven to work effectively and saves energy, we look forward to working with GCL on future energy saving projects!"

Madeleine Pugh

Moor House Management Services