Case study: technological update of the Mercat dels Encants
Mar 7 2024
Thanks to our collaborative work with public institutions and architectural and engineering firms, Lamp has launched a technology upgrade service to replace the lighting in the Encants Market, delivering 3 main benefits:
- 48% energy saving;
- 22 tons of CO2 eq emissions into the atmosphere avoided;
- Better light quality provided;
The work carried out in the Encants Market, promoted by Mercats de Barcelona, is an example of the transition towards circularity by promoting the modernisation and creation of resilient infrastructures that extend their life cycle.
“A market brimming with opportunities, a vibrant, diverse, distinctive and unique space”. – B720 –
The Encants Market in Barcelona, which was built in 2013, is a public facility where second-hand goods are sold. This project was part of the renovation of Plaça de les Glòries and Avinguda Meridiana, an initiative to improve mobility and promote the use of public transport.
The design proposed by the architecture firm B720 envisaged the market as a large, covered, two-storey square on an elevated platform. The roof, designed as a large open canopy, is one of the site's most distinctive design elements, protecting the market activity from the weather while maintaining the open-air market experience. The roof's sloping surfaces of reflective material catch the sunlight during the day and reflect the vibrant images of the market's activity towards the city, while at night its golden surfaces reflect the artificial lighting, creating a highly uniform effect and forming part of the area's urban nightscape.
Original lighting project
Developed by the Artec Studio lighting design studio, it included 500 Shot floodlights, with various types of light beams and power outputs, achieving a lighting system that combines general lighting with specific lighting for the market stalls.
The general lighting was provided by Shot floodlights with a street light beam, installed at a height of 4 metres on the upper floor, and at a height of 8 metres on the ground floor, together with a set of floodlights with concentrated light beams pointing towards the central area of the square, ensuring a high level of uniformity.
A second layer of lighting provides specific illumination for the market stalls using Step linear luminaires, built into the structure of the stalls themselves.
Both solutions incorporated highly efficient and durable light sources at the time of construction, such as metal halide and fluorescent lamps.
10 years later: decarbonising lighting solutions, promoting circularity
After 10 years of using this public amenity, Mercats de Barcelona felt the need to make more efficient use of the market's facilities. The proposed collaborative solution between Mercats de Barcelona and ICA-Grupo, the engineering and architecture firm responsible for drawing up and overseeing the project, led by Industrial Technical Engineer Jordi Codina, represents a commitment to circularity: Taking advantage of the existing light fixtures and giving them a technology upgrade, whilst minimising the impact: making use of existing resources and maintaining the project's original appearance.
The industrial company Lamp, a manufacturer of technical lighting equipment, with over 50 years of industrial experience, based in Terrassa, in the Vallès Occidental region, was tasked with the technology upgrade service for the luminaires supplied in the original project, carrying out the following work:
- Recovery of the 836 luminaires installed;
- Technical analysis to assess and identify the type of work to be carried out in each case;
- Maintenance and cleaning work in its main factory;
- LED technology upgrade;
- Quality tests and electrical and mechanical laboratory testing;
- Extended warranty certification;
- Delivery of the material and management of the waste generated in-house;
As a result of this project, significant savings have been made in energy consumption (48%), falling from total consumption of 64,258 W to 30,891 W, and the emission of 22 tons of CO2 eq has been avoided thanks to the recovery of the lighting fixtures, eliminating the need to manufacture new ones. Light quality has also been improved, providing a solution with better colour rendering than the technology previously installed.