Saving energy with better lighting
We a look at a selection of lighting applications, which have all offered impressive energy saving benefits for users.
Global printing group, Elanders is reaping the rewards of a substantial reduction in overall running costs by simply replacing its existing lighting with Uni-Form Pulse Start 350W lamps, in combination with energy saving conversion kits, from Metal Halide lighting company, Venture Lighting Europe.
The Swedish owned printing company has a strong environmental ethos, and is always keen to maintain good environmental practice throughout its manufacturing processes.
"Whilst the company's processes have always been green, we were aware that we could improve the light output and reduce running costs in our production area," said Daniel Rhodes, Plant Manager. Following a discussion and initial survey by local electrical wholesaler Apex Electrical, the results showed that a change to Venture’s lamps and energy saving conversion kits (which include ignitor and ballast) would achieve better light output/colour uniformity, faster warm up time and, as the lamps have a life of over 20,000 hours, would also offer a reduction in maintenance costs.
This simple change of lamp and control gear in existing fittings meant the installation could be completed quickly and easily without disruption to the normal day to day running of the busy factory.
Lamp and Gear, is an independent specialist supplier of lamps, control gear and accessories. Stocking such a wide variety of lamps has given staff technical expertise on the subject. When it came to the refurbishment of their own distribution centre they chose Greenstep’s low bay EcoSense luminaires to replace the original 400W Mercury hi-bay fittings.
EcoSense was installed using dimmable electronic control gear and 350W metal halide lamps that provide excellent lumen levels, longer lamp life and good colour uniformity. The added advantage of Greenstep’s EcoSense luminaire is the specially designed sensor that determines how much natural light is available and, if sufficient, will reduce light levels accordingly to save energy by up to 50%.
Following the installation, Alec Hadley of Lamp and Gear said: "We are delighted with the new lighting system and the light levels are now consistent whatever the time of year. Surprisingly, even on a day that we would consider overcast/dull there is still a certain amount of natural light which means the EcoSense sensor recognises this and adjusts the lumen levels accordingly, which means we are still saving energy and money!"
Assisting with Carbon Savings
Chalmor’s lighting, combined with BlueWave lighting controllers, is helping Newcastle City Council to reduce its energy consumption and carbon emissions across large areas of its building portfolio.
"Upgrading the lighting is a key element in the Council’s Carbon Management programme and is projected to reduce our carbon emissions by 1,200 tonnes of CO2 per annum once the work has been completed," said a council spokesman. "Replacing existing T8 fluorescent tubes with high efficiency T5 light sources will reduce our installed electrical load by around 50%. Having worked with Chalmor on a number of projects we have been pleased with the levels of service and support, and the quality of the products," he continued.
So far, four buildings have been upgraded to T5 lighting and a further nine buildings will be included in the roll-out programme. In most of the buildings, the lighting is linked to Chalmor’s BlueWave 2-channel lighting controllers, enabling the lighting to be controlled in relation to occupancy and daylight levels. For smaller spaces, Chalmor has provided single channel combined occupancy/light sensors to achieve the same level of control with minimum re-wiring.
The return on investment for each building varies but some of the car parks that are lit 24 hours a day are expected to yield an 18 month payback, including installation costs. Most of the buildings offer a payback of less than five years, entitling the council to take advantage of Carbon Trust/Salix loans to fund the investment.
In addition, the new T5 lamps will last three times as long as the previous T8 lamps, so maintenance costs and the cost of lamp disposal under the WEEE Directive will be less, reducing the total cost of ownership.
For its Droitwich based distribution centre, lighting distributor Lamp and Gear chose EcoSense luminaires from Greenstep Lighting, utilising metal halide lamps. Following installation, the company has reported a reduction of 42% in energy consumption.
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