The Department of Energy and Climate Change Practice What They Preach and Install LED Lighting

Lighting in the Department of Energy and Climate Change (D.E.C.C.) has been replaced with energy efficient, cost effective LED light sources. Since their installation, member of staff have commented on the improved brightness levels and lower energy consumption.

Prior to the upgrade, the offices at 3 Whitehall Place were illuminated by T5 fluorescent lamps. Some argue that T5 and LED lamps have the same energy saving features; building managers often opt for T5s due to their low cost. The D.E.C.C. believe a clear advantage of opting for LED light sources is their localised control system which turns lights off if rooms are vacant and dims them down to 5% as natural daylight pours in.  

During the make-over, the fluorescent lamps on all 8 floors of Whitehall Place were replaced with 1,300 Philips LED fittings.

In their own case study D.E.C.C. stated: “Compared to retrofits in most comparable buildings, which tend to use relatively inefficient T8 tubes, the energy savings are slightly lower, however they are very significant.”

The project spanned for 26 days and cost £401,000, during this time the building’s heating and cooling system was also upgraded. Since these two renovations, the energy consumption in Whitehall place has reduced by almost 30%, majority of these energy savings can be attributed to the lighting switch-over.

The D.E.C.C. anticipates annual savings of around £22,000, predicting an addition £7,000 saving on maintenance costs. They said: “There are additional savings to be had from the switch to LED lighting in the form of lower maintenance costs- it is claimed that LED luminaires typically last 5 times as long as the fluorescent equivalent.”

This refurbishment is part of the government’s recently announced UK Lighting Sector Strategy. This new initiative intends to slash energy consumption and encourage innovation in lighting.

Aside from the obvious energy and maintenance savings, the lighting overhaul has other benefits. A D.E.C.C. spokeswoman reported that responses to their questionnaire showed that, 71% of workers at Whitehall Place found that the LED light sources improved the lighting in their work space.  

Leading Student Accommodation Developer, Unite Students, Announce a £21 million LED Switch-Over

Unite Students have teamed up with industry gorgon, Philips Lighting, to replace existing halogen and incandescent light sources with energy saving LED lamps in all their student properties by 2016.

Unite estimate the lighting project will take 2 years to complete. It will cover over 120 properties, 23 UK towns and cities, creating better living and working environments for staff and students. During the switch-over, more than 300,000 LED light fittings and 85,000 dimmers and sensors will be installed in corridors, kitchens, lounges, common rooms, reception areas and even outdoor spaces.

Philips LivingColours lamps (pictured) will be installed in every student bedroom throughout Unites properties. These innovative lamps will allow students to personalise their lighting to suit their purpose, be it studying, relaxing or socialising. 

The LED switch-over is part of Unite’s recently developed “Home for Success” scheme. Under the “Home for Success” scheme, Unite pledges make improvements which will make their 41,000 student residents feel more at home whilst reducing energy consumption and maintenance costs. It is hoped the “Home for Success” scheme will have a 5 year payback time; the resulting savings have already been assigned to other areas, including; free cleaning services and longer reception opening hours.

Richard Smith, Managing Director for Unite Students, said: “We are pleased to announce this partnership with Philips and our investment in LED lighting, which supports Unite Students’ commitment to providing a home for success for the students that live with us. Success for students means many different things from getting the best degree they can, securing a job after graduating, making lasting friendships and relationships to personal growth and developing into who they want to be.”

He continues: “The new lighting will create a more inviting space for students which they can personalise for socialising or study. At the same time it will reduce Unite’s carbon footprint and the longer lifecycle of LED lights will significantly reduce maintenance workloads for our city teams.”

Philips’ Commercial Director for the Office and Industry sector, Dan Scott said: “Philips is working closely with Unite students to drive down energy consumption and maintenance costs through the use of efficient lighting. The new lighting is also helping Unite Students to achieve its primary goal of creating the best possible environment for student learning; reinforcing the power of light to uplift and transform our surroundings.”

Dan explains: “In addition to supplying the lighting itself, Philips is providing a range of services to support Unite Students in unlocking the potential that lighting can bring, both in terms of energy efficiency  and ambiance. Prior to commencing the roll out across the portfolio Philips surveyed the Unite Students properties to evaluate the existing lighting, in order to deliver the best results and recommend the most appropriate lighting solutions. Philips will manage the installation and provide after sales service support to the Unite Students team.”

New Government Scheme Aims To Encourage Businesses To Replace Outdated Lighting

The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) has announced their plans to encourage businesses to cut carbon emissions and reduce the demand on the National Grid.

The scheme allows businesses to compete against one another for money to fund energy efficiency measures. The budget for the pilot scheme has been set at £20 million. Businesses will bid for the money to fund lighting renovations which would not be possible without the funding.

The first stage of the scheme is a £10 million Electricity Demand Reduction auction. The auction will be open to all sectors of the economy up and down the country. The auction gives businesses the opportunity to bid for funding for a variety of projects, including LED switch-overs and improving motors and pumps.

The government has shown particular interest in projects which promise to deliver up to 100 kilowatts of savings throughout the winter period. The DECC tells us that over 300 organisations including hospitals, airports and supermarket chains are considering taking part in the auction.

The pilot auction scheme will run for two years. If the 2014 trial is successful and delivers lasting electricity savings, the government will continue to offer such funding through the capacity market due to be launched later this year.

It is hoped this will ease the pressure on the National Grid who, as we reported earlier this month, are expecting blackouts during the winter of 2015 due to their inability to meet our increasing electricity demands. Capacity providers will be offered a steady, predictable revenue stream in return for a guarantee they will deliver energy when needed. This is likely to result in increased bills for energy consumers, estimated at £13 per household per year.   

McDonald’s Energy Saving Plan- 20% Energy Cuts but 2020!

LED Street Light in McDonald's

Fast food gorgons McDonald’s aspire to increase energy efficiency by 20% in company owned stores by 2020.

Earlier this month, McDonald’s published a 116 page report focusing on corporate social responsibility. The report details a number of areas in which McDonald’s wish to improve, areas of particular importance were; sourcing, food, people, community and the planet. One of McDonald’s’ key goals for 2020 is to achieve a 20% increase in energy efficiency in seven of the company’s top markets (including the UK).

Although the strategy report is rather vague, it does mention implementing LED lighting: “We have identified a portfolio of energy-efficient solutions… such as high efficiency exhaust fans and LED walk-in refrigerator lighting, with the potential to support our aspirations goal of 20 per cent increase in energy efficiency in our company owned restaurants by 2020.”

Restaurant in the US have already hopped onto the LED lighting bandwagon. Currently it is standard practice for US, company owned McDonald’s restaurants to have LED dining room lighting, LED building signage and some franchises even have LED car park lighting.

The ‘aspirational goals’ set by McDonald’s only apply to company owned restaurants, not for its franchises. The top seven markets, to whom these goals apply to are; Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, the UK and the US. McDonald’s owns 19% of restaurants within these areas. According to the report, a framework of goals for franchise restaurants will be developed by 2016.

For more information on how energy savings can be achieved using LED lighting visit our website http://theledspecialist.co.uk/ or call the office on 0118 950 7125. 

UK Government Minster Explains Why The Government Are Backing Lighting

Business and energy minister Michael Fallon speaks to Lux about why the government is getting behind the lighting industry and the LIA's strategy.

Taiwan places restrictions on LED lighting efficacy

Earlier this month, the Taiwanese Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) announced that all LED lights must have a minimum efficacy of 70 lumens per watt. According to this new legislation, all indoor, warm-white LED lamps must have a minimum efficacy of 70lm/W while cool-white LEDs must reach a minimum of 75lm/W.

The Global Lighting Association (GLA) support the implementation of this legislation, their representative Michael Ng said: “Minimum efficacy requirements should be set at such a level that good-quality products are widely available and at an affordable price. The GLA globally support one minimum level of performance for lighting products, just like what is announced by Taiwan’s MOEA Bureau of Energy. This is very different from just an energy labelling scheme. In general this serves the purposes of ensuring safe and quality products for the consumers, maintaining interoperability and competition on performance. There are adequate surveillance and penalties in place to ensure that the vendors are truthful and the standards used are internationally harmonised.”

When asked about this new legislation, Thorn Lighting’s Head of Global Lighting Applications commented: “it’s an interesting turn of events, the move is clearly designed to discourage people using high colour temperature, or perhaps to encourage retailers or manufacturers to favour warmer light by making it easier to comply.

Although he is not sure the move will have a knock on effect: “whether it will catch on on a global scare is a difficult one. We see general disquiet over the use of high CCT in the outdoors in many countries. Generally it is not liked, but that may be a more historic thing. Previously such cold colours were simply not available. In some countries, South Africa for example, there is generally a wider acceptance of colder colours, less so in Europe.”

In Taiwan in 2013, lighting accounts for 10.9% of the country’s total power consumption, according to figures obtained by the MOEA’s Bureau of Energy (BOE). Residential lighting accounted for 40% of the total lighting power consumption. 

Harsher penalties are introduced for those who knowingly contravene WEEE regulations

Following new guidelines created by the Sentencing Council (SC) of England and Wales, judges could soon impose harsher sentences and fines to both companies and individuals who are convicted of environmental crimes such as fly tipping and pollution.These new guidelines, which will come into effect on 1st July 2014, mean businesses now risk up to £3 million fines for incorrect, unsafe mercury lamp disposal.

This is the first time the SC has produced guidelines for these types of offences; their creation is due to magistrates' lack of familiarity with sentencing for these offences, a lack of standardised sentencing among magistrates and low fines which do not reflect the seriousness of the offences committed. The new guidelines are likely to lead to much larger fines for serious offenders.

A variety of offences related to the disposal of waste covered by the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and the Environmental Permitting Regulations 2010 are covered by these new guidelines. The new guidelines also apply to the highest offence category, hazardous chemicals. Waste fluorescent lamps are classified as hazardous and so all those collecting or transporting waste lamps must adhere to WEEE regulations. When these guidelines come into effect, the risk to any individual or company who knowingly fly tips or disposes of waste lamps inappropriately will be much higher!

As of 1st July, companies and individuals who knowingly break the law will face much stiffer penalties than those who break the law despite attempting to adhere to WEEE regulations. The largest recommended fine is a staggering £3 million, this will be imposed on large businesses who knowingly contravene the law; individuals caught doing so could face prison sentences of up to three years.

Speaking of the guidance, SC member and magistrate Katharine Rainsford said: "Illegal disposal of hazardous waste not only causes damage to the environment but puts peoples' health at risk as well. This guidance from the courts will help ensure consistent and appropriate sentences for offenders. These crimes are normally about making or saving money at the expense of the taxpayer. They also undermine law-abiding businesses in the waste management industry who are contributing to economic growth. The guideline aims to ensure that sentences hit offenders in their pocket."