LIGHTING
SHINING A LIGHT ON ENERGY SAVING
businesses are still yet to fully embrace energy efficiency due to four key barriers, which include misaligned financial incentives and undervaluing energy efficiency. There is obviously still much to do to overcome these challenges for more organisations to reap the benefits of a strategic approach to energy efficiency.
T
FUNDING OPPORTUNITY When it comes to lighting, there is a relatively new financing scheme which can help secure the required funding. Energy Performance Contracts (EPCs) are used extensively in the US, and are now increasing in popularity in the UK too. An EPC is very similar to the much publicised Green Deal in the domestic market and involves an energy services company designing and installing measures to reduce energy consumption, with the investment in the infrastructure being funded by the savings achieved. The energy services company provides a guarantee that energy savings will meet pre-defined levels, helping to secure the financing for the project. npower’s energy services team uses EPCs to ensure results-focussed energy saving solutions. Typically a project starts off with a thorough energy audit to identify areas of potential improvement and to consider the most appropriate solutions. The npower team will then put together an ‘Investment Case Proposal’ detailing recommendations, anticipated savings and forecast return on investment calculations. To verify these calculations and to act as a ‘proof of concept’ a trial is set up. Following a successful trial the concept can be rolled out across multiple sites with a high level of confidence in overall savings.
LIGHTING UP SAVINGS
Lighting is an ideal technology to utilise within an EPC project. The technology is well proven and once installed the need for ‘human intervention’, which can at times have a negative impact on results, is limited. The success of lighting projects is typified by the work undertaken by npower and MRH (GB) Limited, owners of more than 350
he Government recently launched its Energy Efficiency Strategy document, ‘The Energy Efficiency Opportunity in the UK’, which states that many
Across the many areas of an organisation's operations, lighting can often be overlooked as an opportunity for significant energy savings. However, as Richard Jemmett, Head of Business & Social Housing Energy Services at npower, explains, energy efficiency improvements to lighting can result in tangible savings. In addition, a new financing scheme can provide a viable option for funding such improvements.
petrol forecourts across the country. Looking to drive energy efficiencies across its sites, MRH approached npower to identify where savings could be made. Focusing on what would deliver the greatest savings, npower recommended and delivered an innovative project to replace the incandescent bulbs in the petrol station canopies with LED counterparts. This action alone is set to reduce the company’s lighting and electrical maintenance costs – which were in excess of £300,000 a year – by almost 90%, saving the company some £260,000 each year. Petrol forecourt lighting is often required 24 hours a day to ensure a practical and safe environment for staff and customers. With more than 4,000 incandescent bulbs across its 350 petrol stations in the UK, MRH (GB) Limited had high energy consumption levels. In addition, the complexity of maintenance in such a high throughput and potentially hazardous area was also contributing to rising costs.
npower assessed the sites in
March 2012 to establish the scale of the project and how best to roll the changes out to MRH’s individual forecourts. A full survey was undertaken at each site to determine the current lighting configuration, ensuring the replacement light fittings would deliver the correct level of light but more efficiently. In total, the npower survey team visited more than 350 sites, and recorded the position of more than 4,000 bulbs. Philips Lighting Mini 300 LED
luminaries were selected for the project, as the 3D lighting concept is ideal for high vertical lighting levels such as petrol stations. Each luminary has a widespread optic to ensure uniform lighting levels over the forecourt pumps, reducing glare from the bulb to the driver’s eye. The light
emitted matches daytime colour, so drivers approaching the station can clearly see the pumps and other users, making the forecourt a safe environment for all customers any time of day or night. Philips’ patented integral
motion-detection video sensors were also installed, enabling the LED light to be dimmed when full-power was not required, contributing a further 85% energy saving when compared to existing lamps.
LED lighting provides a range of advantages as it is durable and erosion- proof. The lighting can also work in any climate condition as the LED has a weather tight base – again ideal for outdoor lighting such as petrol stations. Lights remain intact for between 50,000 to 100,000 hours, thus significantly reducing the costs associated with regular maintenance and replacement of incandescent bulbs, which typically last for around 1,000 hours.
Due to their increased efficiency, LEDs are considered more eco-friendly than incandescent bulbs, and the energy saved also results in carbon reductions, helping them meet their organisation’s reduction targets and demands of legislation such as the Carbon Reduction Commitment Energy Efficiency Scheme (CRC). In addition, they do not emit any toxic fumes and do not generate much heat, which makes them ideal for areas where heat sources could potentially cause a problem. Clearly, significant energy savings can be achieved through improvements to lighting and with an EPC making it easier to secure financing; organisations can overcome one of the key strategic barriers to implementing energy efficient measures. For more information on npower’s Business & Social Housing division please visit
www.npower.com/socialhousing
PUBLIC SECTOR SUSTAINABILITY • VOLUME 3 ISSUE 3 29
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