Zumtobel upgrades lighting at London data centre
Author: Joe Peck
Zumtobel, an Austrian company specialising in professional indoor and outdoor lighting, has completed a lighting upgrade at Global Switch’s London East data centre campus in Docklands, supporting the site’s ongoing refurbishment programme for AI and high-performance computing (HPC) workloads.
The project covered multiple floors across the facility, including data halls, plant areas, offices, and a liquid cooling demonstration suite. The refurbishment programme is focused on improving flexibility, operational resilience, and energy efficiency as demand for AI-ready infrastructure continues to grow.
Zumtobel worked alongside consultants including Hilson Moran, Burns & McDonnell, and AFK Studios, while Datalec Precision Installations carried out installation works.
Lighting designed for AI-ready infrastructure
The lighting installation was designed to improve visibility within the high-density data halls while supporting energy efficiency and long-term operational requirements.
Zumtobel deployed its TECTON continuous-row lighting system across the halls, using split-lens optics to improve vertical illuminance at rack level for maintenance and operational tasks.
Emergency lighting was integrated with the eBOX monitoring platform, providing automated testing and reporting functions designed for mission-critical environments.
Plant areas, offices, and shared spaces were fitted with AMPHIBIA luminaires, selected for durability in technical environments, while the LITECOM lighting management platform enables centralised monitoring and control.
Future refurbishment phases on levels eight and nine are expected to include TECTON II lighting, which supports faster installation through a modular ‘plug-and-play’ design.
Ken Knight, Head of Data Centres – UK & Ireland at Zumtobel Group, comments, “Data centre environments place very specific demands on lighting, from vertical illuminance at rack level to reliability and energy efficiency.
“Our role was to translate those requirements into a scalable solution that could be implemented across multiple floors while supporting Global Switch’s ongoing expansion and innovation strategy.”
Matt Perrier Flint, Director – UK & Ireland at DPI, adds, “Delivering a project of this scale required close coordination between all parties. The modular design of the Zumtobel lighting system simplified installation and helped maintain programme certainty, while the collaborative approach ensured that technical requirements were clearly understood at every stage.”
Lighting a liquid cooling demonstration suite
Level 10 of the facility includes a liquid cooling demonstration suite designed by AFK Studios, showcasing technologies intended to support higher-density AI and HPC deployments.
The lighting scheme was developed to support visibility, operational safety, and flexibility within the technical demonstration environment.
According to Global Switch, the upgraded lighting infrastructure supports safer rack maintenance, lower energy consumption through LED technology and intelligent controls, simplified future upgrades, and improved emergency lighting monitoring.
Derek Allen, Group Operations Director at Global Switch, notes, “Across our global portfolio, operational resilience and flexibility are fundamental. The lighting strategy implemented at our London data centre supports safe, efficient operations while giving us the adaptability required to meet evolving customer demands.
“It forms part of the wider infrastructure platform that enables us to support increasingly complex AI and high-performance computing deployments.”
Emily Clark, Global Switch, explains, “As our London data centre continues to evolve to support the demands of the most powerful AI and high-performance workloads, it was important that the supporting infrastructure could match that pace of innovation.
“The lighting solution delivered by Zumtobel provides the performance, flexibility, and reliability we require across both operational data halls and demonstration spaces.”
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