VOLUNTEER PROJECT
Lighting has been a key element of creating a safe space at Brink!
create somewhere you could walk into, not have to pay to be here and take some respite from the city centre.” A safe space open to all, it is powered entirely by a 4kW solar system, aligning with both the ethos of Brink! and a goal of the Belfast Stories project to create the most sustainable building on the island of Ireland. Batteries, a battery management system and an inverter were supplied to the project by the Centre for Sustainable Technologies at Ulster University’s Belfast School of Architecture and the Built Environment. Equipment donated by the electrical sector, meanwhile, includes cables, accessories, indoor and outdoor lighting solutions and green tech elements such as isolators integral to harnessing solar energy to power the site. “The capital costs for a small outfit are prohibitive,” said Gawain. “You can’t get up and running to do things that make a difference if you don’t have support, so for the boys to be able to hand over these materials for us to do it was massive. “If you look at all the lighting around the different zones such as the storytelling “For us, this project was about how the electrical industry can pull together at short notice.”
tree ring, without it we would be snookered. This would just be a dead space, and we would not be able to use it, bring the public in and be safe.” Alan Hughes, Manager at The Electrical Equipment Company, said, “Gawain told me the story and I just thought it was nice to be able to give back to the community, as we’re all living in the inner or outer circles of Belfast. It wasn’t a lot of money for anyone individually, but it’s made such a difference to the area in transforming a derelict space. “For us, this project
Brink! has rejuvenated a derelict site on the corner of Union Street and Kent Street.
Contact Alan Hughes at The Electrical Equipment Company for further information: 58 Boucher Place, Belfast BT12 6HT T: +44 (0)28 9066 1510 E: irco@eel.co.uk www.edmundson-electrical.co.uk
was about how the electrical industry can pull together at short notice. We’re all busy and looking after big sites and projects, but we can give back small bits of material and make a difference elsewhere.”
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