Big businesses will soon have to audit their energy consumption and come up with ways they could cut it. Actually doing anything about it, however, is down to them.
Colin Lawson of Lux reports: The Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme (Esos) came into force in July 2014, and requires that all large organisations (defined as those with more than 250 employees) face their energy consumption head-on by conducting regular audits and setting out how they could use less. The scheme presents a significant opportunity for businesses to streamline operations, increase their competitiveness and boost the bottom line – although there is no obligation for them to implement any recommendations from the audits.
We’re now at the halfway point in the rollout of Esos – organisations that registered their eligibility for compliance back in December 2014 are now taking steps to ensure their audits are completed by December of this year. Indeed, the most forward-thinking companies may already have their compliance in the bag.
Decc wants companies to face up to their energy use
Of course, some organisations still view the procedure as an exercise in tick-box compliance. But the conversation has largely moved on from general awareness of Esos legislation to making the most of the opportunities it represents. Compulsory energy audits mean companies have no choice but to acknowledge their energy consumption, and it’s likely that once confronted with stark evidence of the potential savings to be had – UK businesses stand to save up to £1.6 billion ($2.4 billion) – many companies will at the very least want to explore some of the easier energy-efficiency wins.
A survey carried out by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) reveals that, when asked, ‘How much of a priority is energy efficiency for your business?’ 91 per cent of respondents said ‘high’ or ‘quite high’.
Low-hanging fruit:
Lighting, while not necessarily a big win compared to other energy-saving technologies, represents some of the ripest low-hanging fruit available to organisations wanting to implement Esos recommendations – it’s affordable, quick to implement and offers a strong return-on-investment in the face of rising electricity costs (which have doubled for businesses over the last decade, according to the Carbon Trust).
Indeed, with up to 40 per cent of a building’s electricity use accounted for by lighting, it’s little surprise that official Esos guidance lists some standard lighting measures among its energy-saving suggestions. The mention of measures such as LED lighting, occupancy sensors, daylight sensors, maintenance plans and basic employee engagement suggests that the government still believes the potential of energy-efficient lighting remains under-exploited, and that it sees Esos as a chance to push more companies into implementing these fundamental steps.
“Compulsory energy audits mean companies have no choice but to acknowledge their energy consumption”
As an industry, we have a responsibility to help communicate the many benefits of energy-efficient lighting to our market, not just for complying with Esos, but as a long-term measure of cost-effective sustainability. And of course, taking energy-saving needs into account provides clients with a better value product, which is good news for customer satisfaction levels and business competitiveness. Everyone stands to benefit.
Dispelling myths:
But while for many in the industry swapping outdated lighting for new low-energy offerings is a no-brainer, it’s important to remember just how swiftly technology in this arena has changed in recent years, and to be mindful of some of the lighting myths that continue to linger in the minds of decision makers.
What were once specialist solutions are now mainstream options available to a wider range of organisations at more affordable prices. Customers have greater choice, and will need support in making the right lighting investments for their needs.
Crunching the numbers:
While once the conversation focused on CFLs, LED lighting has come to the fore, saving around 75 per cent energy use while offering the same, if not brighter, light output as halogen lighting. And, according to the Carbon Trust, new LED fittings (as opposed to retrofit LED lamps) have the potential in the UK to reduce electricity bills by more than £300 million and reduce carbon emissions by more than a million tonnes over the next three years.
But, these facts may be unknown to the decision makers responsible for implementing Esos recommendations.
The benefits available to those seeking to address their energy consumption through efficient lighting are ample, matched by the many opportunities the lighting industry has in the face of the Esos legislation. The term ‘low-hanging fruit’ is used a great deal these days, but if Esos regulation indicates anything, it’s that there’s still a sizeable market for these energy-saving measures, and the lighting industry is well positioned to benefit from it just as much as the companies undertaking the audits.
Call us today to discuss your site needs, Tel: 0208-540-8287. We can conduct a lighting survey to assess LED retrofit opportunity, to provide costs and energy (& CO2) savings. We are also able to arrange energy efficiency financing, where loans are repaid from energy savings.
We supply a wide range of LED lamps, tubes, and fittings, and can source bespoke LED products to suit.
Novel Energy Lighting Ltd.
sales@novelenergylighting.com
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).
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.’
PHILIPS NEW INSTANTFIT LED TUBE PROVIDES QUICK AND EASY-TO-INSTALL ALTERNATIVE TO FLUORESCENTS
Philips, the global leader in lighting, introduces the new InstantFit LED T8 (TLED) replacement tube that reduces the cost for facilities managers replacing fluorescent tube lighting with energy efficient LED technology. LED tube lamps save up to 50% less energy compared to linear fluorescent tube lighting and require less maintenance due to their long lifetime.
Installers will replace fluorescent tubes within seconds – Philips InstantFit LED tube is compatible with all fluorescent fixtures without re-wiring. Crucially, speed and simplicity in installation mean less business disruption and cost – an average supermarket can now switch to LED lighting in less than 4 days instead of 4 weeks.
LED tubes save up to 50% energy costs on lighting – combined with their long lifetime, Facility Managers can recover their investment in 1-3 years.
Philips has led the way in designing an instantaneous ‘click-to-fit’ LED replacement alternative for linear High Frequency (HF) fluorescent tube lighting with electronic drivers. Currently, installers need to re-wire the driver to replace linear fluorescent tubes with LED tubes. This is due to a wide variety of electronic drivers that exist in fluorescent tube lamps today. The Philips InstantFit LED replacement tube requires no re-wiring as it includes a smart electronic design that is compatible with existing drivers, ballasts and sockets. The result is a dramatic reduction in the time it takes to change from fluorescent to LED tube lighting – from over 20 minutes per fixture to a matter of seconds. “We studied the process for replacing fluorescent tubes with LED technology step by step to tackle those issues that dissuade Facility Managers and installers from making the switch. We found speed and simplicity were key,” said Rene van Schooten, CEO Light Sources and Electronics at Philips Lighting.
Philips estimates that the installed base for fluorescent tube lighting today amounts to 12 billion (lamp) sockets globally. Linear fluorescent HF tube lighting with electronic drivers is one of the most common types of general lighting used in shops, offices and industrial spaces. The opportunity for energy an costs savings is huge. If current fluorescent lighting was replaced by LED tube lamps it would result in savings of EUR 42 billion in energy costs or the equivalent of energy generated by 210 medium sized power plants.
The InstantFit breakthrough is a new milestone in Philips innovation record for the LED tube lamp (TLED) market. More recently, in April 2013 Philips announced the creation of the world’s most energy-efficient lamp suitable for general lighting, unveiling an LED tube replacement prototype that produces a record 200 lumens per watt of high-quality white light (compared with 100lm/W for fluorescent lighting) without compromising on light quality.
Andy Clements, Managing Director at ESP, explains how security and in particular EAP can provide Electricians with good business opportunities.
As the light summer evenings give way to the long dark nights of winter, security once again comes to the fore as home and business owners focus on keeping their properties protected. This presents new opportunities for installers, as the requirement for maintaining or upgrading security systems increases.
After all, the last thing criminals want is attention being brought to their activity. Permanent lighting will illuminate and deter them. However, triggered lighting is far more likely to catch the attention of the property owner or neighbour.
The solution is the use of PIR (Passive infra-red) technology to maintain a watchful eye and provide illumination only when required. The intruder suddenly feels over exposed and risks the attention of passers-by being drawn to the scene.
The choice of PIR detectors is wide and varied. Features are relatively limited so selection should be based on build quality and performance. For external use an IP rating of 44 or above is essential. A detection range of between 10 – 15m should be expected over an angle of detection no less than 110 degrees and up to a full 360 degrees. In addition settings are generally provided for trigger time and the ambient lux level to begin its operation. Sensitivity adjustment may be provided; however positioning of the detector is far more important than overall sensitivity.
High time
Pay attention to the manufacturer’s guidance on mounting height; it’s very important and may only relate to their product, not all PIRs are fixed at 2m. In addition don’t forget PIR detectors are far more sensitive to targets moving across their detection area rather than directly towards them. Locate the detector where this is more likely to happen.
Lastly, look out for an automatic override facility to allow permanent switching of the light source when required without the need for an additional switched live feed. This is very useful when replacing existing lighting. It’s also worth confirming that your choice of PIR is capable of switching LED floodlighting, as not all models do. If it’s not mentioned in the specification you will need to ask the manufacturer.
On camera
CCTV and PIR controlled lighting are perfect partners. The light is provided to obtain well lit images when it’s needed. Whilst many CCTV systems feature integral infra-red illumination, the clean bright output of halogen or LED will always be preferable.
Modern CCTV features motion detection within the camera and recording device creating further harmony with controlled lighting. The system can be configured to only start recording when pixel changes occur within the viewed image, thus making a huge saving on recording space required and reducing the review time needed to locate the important footage. This motion detection can also be used to remotely deliver an email or push notification to the owner of the property well before any entry attempt is made on the building.
All in one
Certain products offer PIR controlled lighting, CCTV camera and in some cases recording with time and date stamp plus a vocal alert in a single unit. All that is required is a 240VAC supply -making installations quick and simple, especially if replacing an old existing fitting. Recordings are made onto an integral SD card, which should be secured within the unit, and have the ability to overwrite when the card is full. More advanced products have the added ability to send a wire free signal to an alarm device within the property to inform occupants of activity.
Historically electronic security has very much focused on notification of an intruder entering secured buildings. EAP – external area protection – should always be integrated into security arrangements with a view to discouraging the criminal before an attempt on entry is made. External lighting falls naturally within the skill set of electricians and the step up to controlled lighting and CCTV can provide a profitable addition to their portfolio and a valuable service to clients.
You can buy the full range of ESP Security LED Floodlights from us HERE
The Carbon Trust offers support and advice for companies that want to implement energy-efficiency schemes. It also runs an accredited supplier scheme. Alongside this it can offer – thanks to a partnership with Siemens Financial Services – structured finance packages which are designed so that savings exceed repayments, following an independent assessment of the energy-saving potential.
Paul Smyth of Salix Finance, which was also represented in the discussion on funding for lighting projects, said that streetlighting and LED lighting is a focus for his clients, with spend on such projects amounting to £7.2m and £5.2m respectively as of year-end 2012/2013. He notes a change of emphasis in chosen lighting solutions, with LED now representing more than half of such solutions due to the cost, lumens per watt and efficiency gains. T5, in comparison, represented 48 per cent of projects in the year ending 2012/13 – for the first time, less than LED equivalents.
He says Salix clients have now delivered £1bn of financial savings for the public sector and the organisation is now launching a new website with an online application process which is designed to be easy-to-use and more case studies and guidance.
‘We find that for every £1 you invest you save £4 over the lifetime of a particular technology,’ he said.
Novel Energy Lighting works with The Carbon Trust, Siemens Financial Services, Salix, and Lombard Green Energy Capital to provide financing to clients wishing to implement upgrade projects. Largest energy savings come from retrofitting T8 Tubes withLED Tubes and LED Panels. Please call us today for advice on financing your LED upgrade project.
Speaking at LuxLive today, Toby Marlow, general manager of sustainable development at Waitrose, revealed that all new Waitrose stores will be lit 100 per cent by LEDs from now on.
Marlow described how the retailer’s Ipswich store has undergone a complete LED refit covering office, retail and warehouse space – resulting in an overall efficacy of just seven watts per square metre, reducing running costs by up to 42 per cent.
‘Moving towards LED has been a step-change in design,’ Marlow said. ‘We can now position light where we want it and make greater use of contrasts. Efficiency and colour rendering has improved dramatically and we’re now up to 130 lumens per watt,’ he told the audience at the event.
Marlow says the redesign is between 40 per cent to 42 per cent more efficient than its equivalent T5 scheme – savings that would not have been possible just a year ago.
LED lighting first got a foothold in refrigerators and freezers, because LEDs work well in the cold, but Marlow said: ‘We’ve gone beyond refrigerators now. Everything in the Ipswich store is lit with LEDs.’
He notes a difference to the in-store ambience thanks to the clear, bright light, but said that some of the best feedback has been customers saying they didn’t notice the difference at all.
LEDs had previously been trialled in a branch of Waitrose in Stratford, but the Ipswich store is the first branch to go completely LED. ‘All new developments will be completely lit with LED and more traditional technology will be phased out,’ added Marlow.
Marlow stressed that it’s important to choose the right luminaires, the right LEDs and the right design. But having said that, Waitrose has had only 33 driver failures from the 35,000 installed. ‘There’s work to do around warranties,’ he warned. ‘But we’re seeing payback in under three years, and in the new store the payback has been under two years. It’s win-win – if you do it properly.’
Companies are missing out on big savings because of a lack of awareness of energy-efficiency measures such as lighting, according to a report published this week by the Confederation of British Industry.
In the report, the CBI points to the ‘untapped potential’ of energy-efficiency schemes for businesses, and cites a lack of knowledge as one of the biggest challenges.
The organisation is now calling on firms to invest more in energy-efficiency measures such as lighting upgrades to reduce costs and protect against long-term rises in energy prices.
Rhian Kelly, the CBI’s director for business environment policy, said: ‘Energy efficiency has sneaked under the radar in the UK’s energy debate and is making a material contribution to UK growth. But there is so much economic and environmental potential that remains unfulfilled.
‘With energy prices still on the rise, energy efficiency can help mitigate the impact on firms, particularly heavy users,’ she said.
The CBI’s report comes as businesses prepare for new legislation coming into effect on 1 October, under which they will have to report on their energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.
Business should consider retrofitting their ceiling grids with LED Ceiling Panels, their fluorescent tubes with LED Tubes, and spots with LED GU10s. Novel Energy Lighting can provide project services for clients wishing to retrofit their buildings to LED.
In addition to Novel Energy Lighting’s broad range of LED products and project services (including financing), we are now offering Green Energy technology products and services.
Herewith, Novel Energy Lighting and Solar, announces that it will now offer the following to customers:
– Solar Photovoltaic (PV)
– Solar Thermal
– Air Source Heat Pumps
– Biomass Boilers
– Electric Radiators
– Voltage Optimisation
– Air Conditioning Energy Saver Devices
Our offering includes design and specification, supply of equipment, installation, and commissioning services. We are able to provide fixed price packages to customers upon site inspection. We have years of experience in the energy business, our expertise can help both commercial and domestic customers save money. We can advise on the best options for your site to reduce your energy bills and carbon footprint.
We are also able to offer project financing through our partner Lombard Capital (a division of RBS bank).
Please call us today to discuss your needs. We are happy to work on feasibility studies free of charge, to ascertain whether your site is suitable for the above technologies.
LEDs were invented more than 50 years ago but they have taken decades to provide their worth in mainstream applications. Problems with colour rendition, lack of standardisation, and inability to dim have given LED lams a bad press and created confusion within the marketplace.
However, innovations in LED lighting technology and new product development are prompting an e-evaluation of whether now is the right moment to realise the carbon savings and energy efficiency of LEDs.
There are three main benefits of LEDs:
Robust LEDs are solid state light sources and so are very robust. While an incandescent lamp will last for approximately 1,000 hours, an LED alternative will last for up to 40,000 hours. Many manufacturers will be happy to guarantee this period of operation, offering free replacements in the event of early failure.
Therefore, an LED lamp fitted in a reception area and used for seven hours every day of the week, will still be functioning after 10 years. This delivers both energy and maintenance savings. In a large office or hotel, it is common to find one person from the mainainance stream dedicated to changing light bulbs! Switching to LEDs allows mainainance staff to focus on other activities.
Energy savings The real cost savings, however, are apparent when calculating energy savings. LEDs are highly efficient light sources that release only a tiny amount of heat and have low power consumption. There are millions of GU10 halogen lamps in use within canteens, reception areas, consulting rooms, etc. The LED direct replacement for this halogen lamp is 88% more efficient giving the following cost-benefit calculation:
The cost of the 50W GU10 is £1.00
The cost of a LED replacement is £9.00
If the lamp is lit for 12 hours per day, with an electricity cost £0.12 per KWH, the cost of operation for the conventional lamp will be £20.00 per year, whereas the LED is only £2.40. Even taking the initial purchase price in to consideration, the payback period will be seven months. Remember, these are the figures for only one lamp.
Versatile Many LED lamps can be retrofitted in five minutes and, unlike old-style bulbs, they light instantly. Businesses should look for quick wins such as areas where lamps are lit for long periods and lights are kept on for more than 5 hours a day. Good examples include corridors, stairwells and landings, reception areas, offices and warehouses, and canteens and rest rooms. Used in these areas, LED lighting can also provide a better quality of light than traditional bulbs – eliminating flickering and associated ailments such as headaches and eye strain. LED lighting also gives off negligible heat and so is safer for environments where lamps are situation close to staff.
This safety, the need of the public sector to tackle carbon emissions and reduce costs, coupled with product innovation from LED manufacturers means that re-evaluating lighting strategies is now a potentially highly valuable exercise.
