Solar lighting for Château-Thierry Hospital Centre
Autonomous solar lighting enhances safety and comfort for staff, visitors and patients using the car park with a low-carbon footprint
The Château-Thierry Hospital Centre has opted for a fully self-sufficient, 100% solar-powered lighting solution for its new 330-space car park. Designed and developed by Schréder, the system guarantees optimal performance and safety, while also significantly reducing the hospital’s carbon footprint.
This new car park has done more than just create a parking area. The project addresses a key challenge by facilitating access for patients, visitors and staff while ensuring the infrastructure is firmly rooted in sustainability.
From the earliest design stages, the hospital took a holistic approach to energy efficiency and resource management by combining photovoltaic shade structures with fully solar-powered outdoor lighting. This forward-looking strategy combines high performance, resilience, and respect for the environment.
Anticipating regulatory and environmental changes
The introduction of France's ENR Act in February 2023, which stipulated that car parks larger than 1,500m² must be fitted with photovoltaic systems, marked a turning point in the design of modern infrastructure. Against this backdrop, the lighting for the hospital car park was required to meet three strict criteria: complete self-sufficiency, absolute reliability, and powered exclusively by solar energy.
Rather than viewing this regulatory framework as a constraint, it was embraced as an opportunity to design a system capable of tackling the contemporary challenges of the energy transition.
Expert guidance rooted in thorough analysis
As a trusted technical partner, we proposed an off-grid solar lighting solution that requires no connection to the electrical grid. The system successfully combines high lighting performance, energy efficiency and easy installation.
Our role involved:
- gaining a precise understanding of the site’s uses and specific constraints;
- designing a reliable, sustainable and precisely dimensioned solar solution;
- ensuring rapid installation without the need for trenching or connection to the grid;
- achieving aesthetic and technical integration in harmony with the new developments.
A comprehensive, smart and integrated solar solution
We supplied and installed a turnkey off-grid solar lighting solution comprising:
- 40 PROTOS solar luminaires
- 10 PREVIA solar bollards
These units incorporate smart motion detectors that automatically adjust the lighting level.
When no movement is detected, the light output is reduced to conserve stored energy.
As soon as movement is detected, the lighting automatically switches to full power to ensure optimum safety and visibility.
This smart energy management maximises battery life while guaranteeing reliable lighting throughout the night.
A design tailored to a hospital environment
Lighting for a hospital car park requires a balanced approach, ensuring safety and visual comfort while blending discreetly into the surroundings.
The PREVIA solar bollards, chosen for their low height, meet the specific constraints of the helicopter landing area while providing subtle, reassuring illumination.
The PROTOS solar luminaires, installed at a height of 5 metres, ensure uniform lighting throughout the car park and offer excellent resistance to wind loads.
A successful collaboration and shared satisfaction
The hospital administration and its users are both thoroughly satisfied with this new, self-contained solar lighting system.
The luminaires blend perfectly into the landscape, providing much-appreciated visual comfort to ensure safety when people move around the car park at night.
The absence of heavy construction work, straightforward deployment, reduced CO₂ emissions, and strict adherence to deadlines, validated the chosen solution and the reliability of the adopted approach.
A firm commitment to the energy transition
This self-sufficient, 100% solar-powered car park lighting project demonstrates Château-Thierry Hospital Centre’s commitment to reducing its carbon footprint and enhancing the user experience. It stands as a testament to the viability of solar lighting in modern public spaces, proving that performance, safety, and environmental responsibility can go hand in hand.
