By replacing 450 existing 400W luminaires with Luxtronic Aislelux fittings equipped with two Osram 80W Lumilux T5 HO Constant fluorescent tubes, the warehouse now saves £67,000 on annual energy expenditure and has reduced its CO2 emissions by 271 tonnes.
Premier Decorations has a 262,000 square foot warehouse in Wrexham that requires a significant number of light fittings. The cost of running the lighting was one of its largest overhead costs. Consequently, the company turned to Luxonic Lighting for a more efficient solution. The brief was straightforward - reduce electricity consumption; reduce CO2 emissions; and improve the quality of the working environment.
The existing 400W mercury discharge luminaires were not designed for racking aisles and were inefficient when operated in this context so Luxonic proposed a new lighting scheme using Ailselux louvre technology with Osram lamps and control gear.
Commenting on the project, Tim Clark, lighting design engineer at Luxonic, said: "We chose Osram’s triphosphor Lumilux T5 HO Constant fluorescent tubes and Quicktronic control gear because of the quality of the products and their efficiency. The Lumilux tubes give stability at high and low temperatures and constant output throughout their 20,000 hour lifetime, minimising maintenance costs.
"The use of Quicktronic Intelligent Dimmable control gear means that we can safely dim the tubes down to 1% light output. Consequently, we combined the tubes and control gear with integral presence detectors that allow the fittings to dim down when the room is unoccupied. This enables further energy savings that lower the carbon footprint of Premier Decorations as per the remit."
In addition to the improvements in efficiency, the new fittings provide an improved light colour that has enhanced the quality of the working environment.
Luxonic was able to reduce the energy consumption of the lighting scheme by utilising the latest lighting solutions. Based on a conservative occupancy level of 58% with 7 x 5 minute visits per hour, running costs are reduced to £23,000 instead of £90,000 and the power consumption is now 212 KWh compared to 830KWh previously.
Overall, Luxonic achieved a 74% energy saving by using Osram’s efficient tubes and control gear with an expected payback period of only 1.49 years. The £67,000 annual cost reduction and 271 tonnes annual CO2 saving prove that a small investment in a new lighting scheme can reap significant benefits over the long-term.