Fira de Barcelona is an internationally recognised fair institution headquartered in the city of Barcelona, Spain. Built in 1929, it has become established as one of the leading organisations in the trade fair and event industry, annually hosting a wide variety of trade fairs, conferences and corporate events of global relevance in different sectors.

It is one of the largest venues of this type in Europe, with over 500,000 square meters of exhibition space, and is considered one of the most emblematic trade fair centres in the world. The activities it hosts take place in three different spaces: the Montjuïc exhibition centre, the Gran Vía exhibition centre, and the CCIB.

IMPROVED ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND LIGHTING CONDITIONS

Since last year, Fira de Barcelona has been immersed in the process of renovating its lighting to LED technology, with the aim of improving energy efficiency and lighting conditions in several of the halls.

In mid-2023, ÁMBAR Projectes i instal·lacions, a Barcelona-based company specialising in design and lighting, entrusted Carandini with the task of modernisation the lighting in Hall 2 of the Montjuïc exhibition centre. Following the successful completion of this project, ÁMBAR opted once again for Carandini’s solutions for the project to update Hall 1, also located in the Montjuïc exhibition centre. Today, we will discuss this project in detail.

ASYMMETRIC METAL HALIDE FLOODLIGHTS

Montjuïc Hall 1 previously had asymmetric metal halide floodlights installed at a height of 14 meters, which did not guarantee good light levels and produced many dark spots and poor uniformity.

With the aim of reducing consumption, improving levels and uniformity and facilitating maintenance, Fira de Barcelona contacted ÁMBAR to rethink the lighting of the space. After conducting several lighting studies, it was decided that the most suitable solution was to change the luminaire format to Carandini LED industrial high bays, and to redesign the existing lighting layout to ensure high uniformity with the light levels required by the client.

Carandini supplied a total of 62 units of the HBL industrial high bay luminaire in size “L” 200W, with an efficiency of 150lm/W. This solution, specially designed for industrial areas with very high ceilings, offers excellent light distribution and good colour rendering. The luminaires have been fixed to the existing structure and have a colour temperature of 4000K.

EXCELLENT UNIFORMITY AND SIGINFICANT ENERGY SAVINGS

The lighting conditions of Montjuïc’s Hall 1 have been improved significantly thanks to this project, achieving light levels of 140 lux with uniformity of 0.60. These excellent results allow exhibitors and visitors to enjoy optimal lighting, enhancing all the details of the products and services exhibited.

Projects like this highlight the importance of lighting in improving the exhibition of new products and attracting visitor attention, as well as creating a welcoming and attractive atmosphere that contributes to a more positive experience for attendees.

The lighting change has resulted in a 50% reduction in energy consumption. Furthermore, the need for constant maintenance associated with the previous metal halide floodlights, which required frequent equipment and lamp replacements, has been eliminated. This improvement will allow for considerable savings in time and maintenance costs in the medium to long term.