University reaps energy and maintenance savings with LED road lighting
The exterior of the University of Edinburgh’s King’s Buildings were previously lit by outdated, inefficient SON lamps. They have upgraded using Infinity RL LED Road Lanterns from Tamlite – an installation, part-funded by Salix, which is set to drive down the university’s CO2 emissions, energy consumption and maintenance burden.
The outdated road lighting across the University of Edinburgh’s science and engineering campus was identified as a key source of energy waste. The area surrounding the King’s Buildings, as this collection of university buildings is known, needs to be well-lit in order to ensure the safety of students. Yet the existing SON lamps that provided external lighting to the area had proven to be energy-inefficient, with short lifespans that nudged up maintenance costs. The yellow light quality of the sodium lamps was also less than ideal, distorting colours and perception.
The university were looking to reduce energy consumption, cut maintenance costs and generally improve light levels. Switching to LED lighting ticked all of the boxes.
In total, 89 of the Infinity RL Road Lanterns were installed throughout the roadways and car parks surrounding the King’s Buildings. Featuring high-output LED chips from Cree, each Infinity RL has unique heat sink technology for optimum thermal management and a built-in driver for 3 pole mains connection. With a 5-year warranty that comes as standard, the IP65-rated luminaires are extremely robust.
With 60W, 90W and 120W versions of the Infinity RL available, the University of Edinburgh was able to select a different brightness depending on the light levels needed in each particular area of the campus. A leading electrical contracting company, carried out the installation, which proved to be very straightforward.
While part of the funding for the project came directly from the university, it was also able to take advantage of government-backed financing via the Salix scheme to cover part of the cost of the LED lighting. The Infinity RL Road Lanterns are well-established to meet not only Salix’s carbon-saving criteria, but also deliver project payback rapidly. Indeed, the university has been able to unlock immediate financial savings on energy bills and maintenance costs.
Azccording to the university, the light quality has improved dramatically. The colour-rendering of the white light from the LEDs makes everything appear much crisper. They’re also reaping real cost savings, and have already recorded maintenance savings compared to last year.
The installation of LED lighting around the King’s Buildings is further proof of the sterling work that the UK’s higher education sector is doing to reduce its carbon footprint. The University of Edinburgh may have set ambitious targets for itself – but, thanks to successful projects like this one, it should have no problems meeting those targets.
Contact Details and Archive...
Related Articles...