Archive for April 2014
Terry Anderson
Building manager, Northamptonshire Police
We’re starting to introduce LEDs
We’ve used LEDs when we’ve done office refurbishments. We’ve gone from individual cellular offices to open-plan offices at the force headquarters in Northampton. We’ve done this primarily to house more people. And when we’ve done this we’ve converted the old T5s and T8s to LED.
I’ve also used them outside under walkways. I’ve recently completed a project where I’ve replaced a load of SON 80s with LED spotlights on a building for general lighting around our firearms range. That’s probably the most adventurous project I’ve attempted with the police force. They’re very old school.
Initial installations have been successful
LEDs are reducing our energy consumption. Most of our buildings are old, and so the Display Energy Certificates (DEC) are very low. The energy being used against the floor area of the building doesn’t quite work out, and it drags our DECs down.
By changing as many of the old lights to LED as we can, we’re reducing our energy consumption and cutting down on maintenance. The reason we’re doing the upgrades is for long-term cost saving.
The force isn’t as tech-savvy as I’d like
I think it’s getting there, but I think we as a force have to catch up, which we are with the new buildings. I’ve done one complete station in Rushdon with LED, a small one. We also opened a new building about 18 months ago that has a full control system everywhere and energy-efficient lighting, but they’re not LED fittings.
We used PL36s which are low energy and high frequency but not as efficient as LEDs. We have controls on the lights but the controls aren’t yet hooked up to the building management system. But now, any new building we do will have lighting controls.
Safety and security comes first
The work I do is quite unique, it’s different from a normal property manager because of the environment that I work in. I did one complete station with LED. We have to think about safety, and be sure before we install anything. You can’t have lights going on and off in custody areas, and we have to find different ways of making lights that have to be on all the time more efficient.
Cost has to be taken into account
Everything is financially driven, especially with budgets being cut the way they are. It constricts us considerably, but now that trials have been successful, it’s easier to put a case forward. Providing it’s not one of these projects where it’s given to a contractor and they’re asked to design and supply, we’ll have it done the way we want it – if we’ve got any input – and that means getting the best value for the public’s money.
I’m governed a lot by cost. I’m spending your money, I’m spending my money, I’m spending everybody’s money, so I’ve got to get the best value for the pound, and that’s what I’m looking for all the time. Value and reliability are important. If one lamp was £2 and one was £2.50 and I knew the more expensive one was better, I’d invest in that one.
Controls didn’t work well for us at first
We introduced controls a few years ago, primarily in corridors. Our old property manager was a bit old school. I wanted to put them in general public areas like corridors and toilets, but he wouldn’t let me put them in toilets. The main problem we had with those controls was that the old style lighting didn’t react fast enough if there was an emergency, if there’s a policeman running through the corridor because an alarm has sounded in the cells.
Lighting for the police has some unique requirements
The lighting inside the firing arms range is controlled by the building management system and is used to create different scenarios. You can make the lights flash on and off, and all sorts of strange things happen with the lighting to simulate different training environments. The day will come when we turn ordinary fluorescents to LED, but for the moment, we’re leaving that side of the business alone.
THE DETAILS
Terry Anderson manages energy across Northamptonshire Police, which employs 1,200 police officers and more than 1,000 other staff. The police authority has set a target of reducing the consumption of gas and electricity by five per cent year on year, and
Anderson works with new lighting technology to achieve this goal. With a large operational fleet of 414 vehicles, and a multitude of buildings, the authority has a large carbon footprint to cut down.
A policy of increasing the use of diesel has helped to cut down on carbon emissions, and now the authority is looking to achieve similar reductions in its buildings, including its headquarters (pictured).
energy efficient lighting · energy saving · led bulbs · led financing · led GU10 · led lighting · LED retrofit · led tubes · Novel Energy Lighting · police station lighting
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Time to take Stock – LED Lighting in Retail
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Lux Magazine reports:
Time to take STOCK
Retail lighting has come a long way in the last couple of years: LED payback time has shortened and expectations have risen, but end users still have to check for dodgy specs. Kathrine Anker reports:
Every time Lux brings together manufacturers, designers and end users to discuss retail lighting, things have changed dramatically since the last time. It’s not long ago that LED was a prohibitively expensive technology for some, and not good enough for others, but things have moved on pretty far since then.
Our latest retail lighting forum, in association with Microlights, got off to an optimistic start, acknowledging that a lot of education has happened. ‘I think all clients have become discerning,’ said Theo Paradise-Hirst, head of lighting design at NDYLight. ‘They’ve realised that lighting is the absolute key driver to making retail work. There is more knowledge and appreciation of colour rendering and you can have conversations with clients that you’d never have had 10 years ago about the exact colour temperature and materials.’
Adding to the optimism was a consensus that payback time for LED lighting has come down to a level that will please most finance directors. Leases can be short in retail, so a quick return on investment is more important than it is in other sectors. Three to five years appeared to be the accepted threshold for most end users around the table, including those responsible for lighting in Sainsbury’s, Harrods and John Lewis, and they all agreed that we are getting there.
From the suppliers’ perspective, the maturity of the UK lighting market is to blame for the slow climb toward the tipping point. ‘Retailers in the UK have been very switched on for a long time and market prices for conventional technology are very low,’ said John Chamberlin, sales director at Microlights. ‘Because the price point is so low in the traditional lighting market and you’re starting from a very low price point, it’s taken this long for LED solutions to pay back. But that tipping point is gone now – we’re getting under two-year paybacks in some cases.’
Hitting the tipping point where cost is no longer prohibitive means some end users can start to think about using LED luminaires not just as a secondary light source but as the main one, said lighting designer Keith Ware: ‘We’re starting to see more use of LED as the primary light. For the first time, it feels like LED is actually a credible technology, that we can start to talk to our clients about full LED schemes. Retailers are willing to go with it because they are starting to look at the whole life cycle and the payback.’Tipping point aside, payback time still depends on what you’re replacing. Alan Patton, M&E manager at B&Q, said: ‘If you’re replacing T5, they are very good already so the payback time of a retrofit will be five to seven years. You can still get your energy consumption down by switching from T5 to LED, but it’s at a cost.’
Horses for courses
Despite the LED hype, retail estates are still predominantly lit by fluorescent T8 – LEDs make up less than five per cent of fittings in retail stores, according to a recent survey conducted by BRE. And ultimately, as Phil Caton, director of PJC Light Studio, pointed out, the best system is the one that delivers. ‘If you’ve got a high ceiling you’ll struggle to get the same punch from an LED fitting as you’ll get from a metal halide, unless you significantly increase the size of the fitting – and nobody wants to see big, clunky fittings in high-end retail stores,’ Caton said.
He added: ‘We get the feedback that LED doesn’t give the same depth – the quality of light is much flatter, even when you play with contrast ratios. When there are multiple LED sources in a fitting we have the problem of fringing and shadows around the product, and dimming still gives problems with modulations, so LED won’t be the total solution for the foreseeable future.’
Theo Paradise-Hirst added: ‘Over time some LEDs don’t render colours as well. It’s not just the output, sometimes you have to be aware that there might be colour changes. If you go to galleries that are lit with LED, they look great on day one but after a while something
MANAGING PERCEPTIONS
Light levels can get shamefully high in retail and it often falls to designers to argue for a more restrained approach. ‘Competing shops in a beauty hall don’t look at the relative brightness in the room, they just want to have the brightest shop. So light levels go up and up, completely unnecessarily and the products end up looking all bleached out,’ said Maida Hot, managing director of lighting design company GIA Equation. ‘Trying to find a balance that creates a luxurious feel is quite a challenge. Everyone puts in more, just in case.’
Most of the designers taking part in our retail lighting forum had encountered clients with excessive and unnecessary light level demands. ‘It’s all about perception,’ said Keith Ware. ‘When a client says ‘I want 1,000 lx’, that’s not a lighting brief – that’s just a statement. You need to ask, what is the lit effect you’re trying to create?’ Ware told the roundtable that his company, Dalziel and Pow, successfully convinced Primark to bring down the light level in its shops to below 1,000 lx. ‘We arranged a test with a lighting consultant to prove to Primark that they didn’t need 1,500 lx everywhere. You could bring the level down to 800-900 as a general average – of course with higher contrast on the walls and better vertical on the fixtures off the aisles. But we cheated a little bit – when we did the test we reduced the light to the level we wanted before the test started. When they arrived they said: “This level is great, now we need to reduce it.” That nailed it completely, because it made them realise that there are better ways of designing a lighting scheme to a lower lux level if you get the contrast right.’
energy efficiency · energy efficient lighting · energy saving · led fitting · led fixture · led lamp · led lighting · lux level · Novel Energy Lighting · retail · retail lighting
LED lighting has progressed a long way with the advent of high power LEDs. LED MR16 lamps are now around the same size as halogen lamps, which makes them a perfect direct replacement for older and inefficient traditional lamps, and they will save you money too!. These LED lamps can be used for spotlights and downlights to create a pleasant indoor or outdoor ambience. The light produced by these lamps is perfectly bright and is available in cool white or warm white light. With energy saving of up to 90%, these lamps will save you money and reduce your carbon footprint.. They are an ideal replacement when for fluorescent and halogen lighting.
LED MR16 lamps
Halogen MR16 lamps produce more heat, which means they have limited lifespans of around 2000hrs.. In contrast, LEDs produce much less heat because they use much less power, which means they are especially durable. The powerful light from one LED can outlast 25 replaced halogen lamps, delivering outstanding performance. Energy costs are barely a concern when it comes to using these high power LED MR16s, especially as global electricity prices continue to rise. Moreover, it is an investment that pays for itself in less than 1 year (sometimes in a matter of months). Novel Energy Lighting sells a range of such LEDs that are manufactured by Philips, Megaman, Heathfield and others.
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LED Spots – A Better Option for Lighting Spaces
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Spotlights are a popular way to light spaces, and they provide an elegant ambience. Install too many spotlights, and you will consume a lot of electricity. LED spots are a better option for illuminating spaces, because they consume over 80% less electricity than traditional spot lights, and consequently have a much smaller carbon footprint. They are an eco-friendly and cost-effective solution. LED spot lights are an ideal retrofit solution for halogen lights, and can provide rapid returns on investment with reduced energy costs. Replacing traditional lights with LEDs can be a great option. LED spotlights offer added controls in the form of dimmability, motion and light sensor control. They provide a concentrated and controllable light beama, and provide a high intensity over long distances. Spots can be used to create a point of focus and a sophisticated ambience.
Led Spots
LED lights are semiconductors. They produce much less heat when lit than traditional filament lamps (99% of the energy put into traditional lamps is converted to heat) Thus, LEDs are energy-savers and cost-efficient. These lights do not have mercury or lead that can pollute the environment. LEDs are eco-friendly and produce a brighter light than fluorescent lights, and have minimal UV emissions. These dimmable lights are controllable and can change the mood in an instant. Conference and presentation rooms are ideal applications for these fixtures.
Novel Energy Lighting provides a range of LED spotlights and downlights from top quality manufacturers such as Megaman, Philips, and Osram. Particularly popular downlights are Philips Coreline Spot, Coreline Downlight, Ansell iCage, and Heathfield downlight, Many of the fittings accept LED lamps like Philips MasterLED GU10s and MR16s, or Megaman PAR20 or PAR30 LED lamps Contact us today to discuss your needs.
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LED lights are certainly eco-friendly. Switching to LED can make a huge difference as it reduces your electricity bill considerably. LED lamps consume low energy, but lasts much longer than incandescent lights. Moreover, there is no mercury or any other toxic chemical in LEDs that would otherwise harm the environment. To add to the benefits, LEDs produce less heat, which in turn increases the rated life.
LED Lights
Frequent replacements can be tedious, time-consuming and expensive. This is not a problem with LEDs. LED lamps do not need frequent replacement and can illuminate an area for up to 50,000 hours or longer. They are also easy to install as a replacement for incandescent or halogen lamps, and so take very little time to retrofit. You tend to fit and forget these lights due to their long lifespan. LED lighting is cost-effective and delivers immediate returns by lowering energy bills.
Another factor in LED lights eco-friendly credentials, is that they are recyclable. The material and production of one LED bulb is equal to 25 incandescent bulbs. So, there are considerable savings in production and materials when it comes to manufacturing LEDs.
A LED light consumes less energy than an incandescent light to produce the same light output. In other words, less wattage is used by the LED compared to a traditional bulb which produces the same lumen output. LED lamps also come with built in sensors, like passive infra-red or microwaves to detect movement, or photocells to switch the lamp off when the area is lit by natural light. These lights are lit only when required, thus avoiding unnecessary power consumption. LED lighting is a great way to save energy whilst boosting your green credentials!
eco-friendly · LED · led bulb · LED lamps · LED lights
Looking to create a quality, sophisticated ambience with lighting? Trying to control the budget at the same time? Dont let lighting burn a hole in your pocket, invest in LED GU10 Lamps that are perfect for efficient illumination and have a longer rated life than incandescent lights whilst producing much less heat. You may have experienced a temperature increase in your rooms when using incandescent lighting. This is because incandescents are very poor at converting electricity into light, but they’re really good at turning it into heat! Moreover, you may have also noticed that incandescent lights burn out and stop working very quickly. So, why make repeated investments in these lamps?
LED GU10 Lamps
Novel Energy Lighting offers LED GU10 Lamps that are not only cost-effective, but can last as long as 50,000 hours, delivering paybacks of less than 1 year, whilst lasting over 10 years. These lamps also save electricity, and less heat is produced. LED GU10s come in wattages ranging from 3.5W to 8W and delivering outputs equivalent to over 65W halogen. We sell only quality lamps,produced by manufacturers like Philips, Heathfield, Toshiba, Osram, and others. These lamps come in different colour temperatures and have warranties of 3 years or more. These smart retrofits have the potential of controlling light output through dimming capabilities. Non-dimmable lamps are also available for producing sufficient and long-lasting illumination. Another important factor to consider is the inherent reduction in maintenance costs (lamps and labour) due to the much longer lifespans. LED GU10s are truly fit-and-forget devices for any indoor or outdoor setting..
These lamps are ideal for offices, industrial settings, shops and hotels where constant lighting is a must. By using such high quality lighting, you can also reduce electricity costs. So, invest smartly to illuminate your space!
LED · led GU10 · led gu10 lamps · LED lights
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Marvell Launches LED Driver IC That Works With Legacy And Digital Controls
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The Editor of LEDs Magazine and Illumination in Focus reported that Marvell has announced the 88EM8189 LED driver IC that works with legacy phase-cut dimmer controls, and that includes a digital interface to allow developers to add network support to solid-state lighting (SSL) products. Indeed, the new driver can be combined with other Marvell ICs to directly support ZigBee, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, or other networks in new LED-based lighting developments including smart retrofit lamps.
LED Driver IC
In fact, Marvell expressly mentioned replacement lamps as a key target market for the new driver IC. A number of wireless-enabled lamps have come to market in the past year, and Marvell asserts that its Smart Lighting Platform can reduce the bill of materials (BOM) in such product developments. The company originally announced the Smart Lighting Platform at the Consumer Electronics show in January 2012.
“Consumers increasingly are realizing the benefits of using Smart LED bulbs inside their homes,” said Philip Poulidis, vice president and general manager of Marvell’s Internet of Things Business Unit. “As part of Marvell’s end-to-end Smart Lighting Platform, Marvell’s new LED driver controller helps users make the transition from wall-dimmer-controlled LED lights to smart bulbs connected to the Internet, and controllable by smartphones and tablets.”
The new driver IC includes an I2C digital serial interface that is a standard means of connecting digital ICs in the electronics industry to add peripheral support in a product development. In the case of the LED driver IC, a development team could add Marvell’s 88MZ100 ZigBee microcontroller (MCU) or 88MC200 Wi-Fi MCU to a lamp design via the serial link. All of the ICs, along with a ZigBee-to-Wi-Fi-gateway IC are part of the Smart Lighting Platform.
The new 88EM8189 driver IC includes a separate AC-DC converter on chip to drive an MCU or other peripheral circuitry in additional to integrating the driver functionality — an important feature in minimizing the system BOM. Still, the driver IC enables lamp designs to meet the strict Energy Star requirements for 500-mW standby power when the lamp is powered off.
A lamp that utilizes the new driver IC can take dimming and on-off commands via one of the aforementioned digital interfaces. The driver delivers dimming over a range of 1-100%.
However, a smart lamp based on the new IC can still respond to a legacy phase-cut dimmer on the power circuit. Marvell used the same AC-DC driver design that is in the 88EM8187 IC designed specifically for use with phase-cut dimmers. “The innovation in our 88EM8189 chip delivers a greater user experience — automated wireless light control through the Internet and backward compatibility with existing dimmers — at a significantly lower price point,” said Poulidis.
Marvell also supplies the Smart Lighting Platform in forms for dedicated modular drivers intended for use in luminaires. For example, the company announced the first customer for its 88EM8801 LED driver and 88MZ100 wireless MCU at Lightfair last year.
Marvell also offers a reference design for the new 88EM8189 LED driver IC. Moreover, the design is in a form factor that would allow it to fit in the neck of a retrofit lamp.
Novel Energy Lighting can supply smart lamps and drivers for its clients. Whether required for a new office building or to use in the remodelling of a shop, we are able to source drivers to give your lighting the interconnectivity you need.
LED · led bulbs · LED driver · LED driver IC
With the growing need to save energy, the use of LED lighting has become more common. LED technology has made many successful advances, and is now the preferred lighting method. Below are the top benefits of LED lighting that justify its green revolution credentials.
Benefits of LED Lighting
- Long life – The top benefit of LED technology is that it has a long lifespan. These lights last longer than traditional lighting with exceptional lifespans of up to 100,000 hours. LED lightscan be fitted and forgotten, as they may not require replacement for about 10-20 years. In contrast, incandescent and halogen lights last for just 1000 to 2000 hours, which means you spend a lot of time on ladders replacing them!.
- Energy efficiency –Conventional light bulbs convert >80% of energy into heat, which makes the atmosphere warm, and eventually stop working due to excess heat. They are great space heaters, but not great lights! In contrast, LED lights can save >80% power, and they emit less heat. As a result, less electricity is used which saves money on energy bill payments. Such energy efficiency reduces maintenance and replacement costs, as well.
- Eco-friendly – LED lights are free of mercury, unlike fluorescent lighting, which contains mercury and other such toxic chemicals which can be hazardous for the environment. Moreover, LED lighting is 100% recyclable. One LED bulb saves material and production of up to 25 incandescent bulbs. Therefore, it considered an eco-friendly lighting solution.
- Design flexibility – LED lights have unique design flexibilities, wherein dimmable illumination is possible. The dynamic control of light, distribution and colour makes these lights efficient and innovative. Such lighting can set the mood and ambience with its incredible lighting effects. Moreover, these lights have novel shapes to produce effective illumination.
- Low-wattage – One of the key advantages of LED lights is that low power supply can be used for illumination (for example solar photovoltaic). Thus, external energy sources can also be used to operate such lighting for an outdoor setting. It also makes LED lighting very convenient for boats, yachts, and other marine vehicles, which often rely on battery power..
These are just a few benefits of LED lighting. However, there are many other such benefits of these lights that save energy and money for a greener future.
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LED Candles – Innovative Hospitality Décor
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Home and Hospitality décor does not always rely on furniture, flowers and wall-hangings. Lighting also plays a vital role, and the right look can create a sophisticated ambience.Novel Energy Lighting supplies a range of quality LED Candles for decorative lighting, including top sellers by Philips and Megaman.
Led Candles
Philips candles come in two ranges: CorePro LED, which are non-dimmable, and Master LED, which are dimmable. The CorePro LED range is frosted and compatible with existing E14 lamp holders. They are an excellent retrofit replacement for incandescent lamps, andb with 4W of LED they can replace a 25W incandescent bulb. These bulbs are cost-effective and long-lasting with an average life is 20,000 hours (L70). The dimmable Master LED candles come in either 4W or 6W versions, which are equivalent to 25W or 40W. The average life of these candles is 20,000 hours (L70). These lamps are available with bayonet and screw bases, including an aesthetic flame-tip design. These candles come in 2700K warm white colour temperature and feature a 3 year warranty. Average CRI is 80, and the 4W delivers a luminous flux of 250Lm, whilst the 6W delivers 470Lm.
Megaman candles are available as dimmable and non-dimmable bulbs. There is a choice of the frosted 3.5W, opal or clear 7W, and twisted gold and clear 5W bulbs. These candles are ideal replacements for incandescent candles. These decorative lights have an average life of 15,000 to 50,000 hours (L70). Moreover, these candles come in a 2800K warm white colour temperature, with up to 3 year warranties. These decorative LED Candles can accentuate any ambience, and deliver energy savings whilst providing an innovative décor.
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LED Lighting – The Efficient Way of Saving Energy
Comments off · Posted by admin in LED, LED Candles, LED downlights, LED panels, LED Spots, LED Tubes
Having quality lighting is an important factor for many businesses. Many are turning towards LED as the best option to meet their lighting needs. LED or the light-emitting diode is an energy-efficient light source that provides light for a longer duration. It uses a semiconductor to produce light, and compared to incandescent lights, LED bulbs are much more energy-efficient. LED lights reduce energy consumption by 50% or more. The average life of these lights is 25,000 hours or more, which can be 25 times longer than any other type of lighting. In other words, these lights can be used for many years without failing. Another important fact is that LED bulbs emit much less heat than their incandescent equivalents. They can run up to 90% cooler, which helps with longevity, reduces fire risk, and also stops luminaire damage.
Led Products
The LED was first invented by a GE employee named Nick Holonyak, Jr. in 1962. Thereafter, the technology gathered pace and costs reduced,making it an efficient solution for genera; lighting. Switching to LED lighting can decrease electricity consumption , and also significantly reduces carbon emission.
LED lighting is used almost everywhere, for instance, traffic lights, TVs, vehicle lights and display areas. There is a wide range of application of such lighting due to its exceptional characteristics. It is preferred more than any other lighting, because of its easy maintenance, compact size, breakage resistance, and controlability. LED’s do not have mercury, and therefore, do not have much of an impact on the environment. This lighting is more efficient than compact fluorescent lights or CFLs. Novel Energy Lighting exclusively provides LED lights like LED tubes, panels, downlights and LED spots to support nature and save energy efficiently.
LED · led bulbs · led downlight · led panels · led tubes
