LIGHTING FEATURE DON’T FIT AND FORGET
As impressive as LEDs are at reducing costs and carbon, it’s still important to consider the cost of their ongoing maintenance. Here, Richard McCabe from lighting maintenance firm Quicklight explains why
I
t’s common knowledge that switching to LED lamps can bring significant energy savings and help reduce a company’s carbon footprint. As such, more and more firms are taking the opportunity to upgrade their lighting in order to reap the benefits - which can be very attractive when LED lamps are used to replace old and inefficient lighting. In one refurbishment project, Quicklight
client Saint-Gobain achieved an annual energy cost saving of 61% and a total carbon saving of over seven tonnes per year when the company upgraded some of the lighting at its UK headquarters. Due to the age of the existing fittings and drop off in lamp efficiency the lighting levels were also significantly improved.
IMPROVING PAYBACK Despite its popularity, some customers are still reluctant to invest in LED lighting because high quality LED lamps are expensive and can incur long payback periods. However, as LED technology improves, it becomes more reliable and therefore offers better value for money in the long term. By considering the value of the investment over the lifetime of the product, the savings become more compelling. Quicklight, for example, recently helped one customer to upgrade two of its high street stores, replacing ceramic metal halide (CMH) lamps with LEDs. The customer looked at the business case for
the investment over a set number of years before deciding to go ahead. The retailer demonstrated a staggering energy cost reduction of almost 80% and a carbon saving of 12 tonnes per year for each store.
ONGOING MAINTENANCE When calculating the full cost of their investment, most businesses often forget to factor in the cost of ongoing maintenance. This is not surprising when a great number of manufacturers promote LED products as a ‘fit and forget’ solution, but this simply isn’t the case - all luminaries and lamps need some form of maintenance. The weakest link in an LED luminaire is
not the light source itself, but the intricate component parts, such as the drivers and control gear. While there has been much industry focus to improve the quality of these components of late, they will often fail before the end of the product lifetime. So, while the use of LEDs goes some way to help reduce maintenance costs, it is advisable that clients factor in maintenance costs when looking at the total cost of ownership. Another consideration is the lumen
output. Unlike other lamps where it’s very easy to spot outages, light from an LED will gradually depreciate over time, which makes it harder to spot the point at which the product has failed. Reputable manufacturers will quote the number of hours expected from the LED
/ ELECTRICALENGINEERING
Above: when calculating the cost of LEDs it’s important to include the cost of ongoing maintenance
Above: Screwfix, a Quicklight customer, upgraded its lighting with LEDs
Below: Richard McCabe from lighting maintenance firm Quicklight
up to the point it reaches 70% of its original output, allowing you to calculate the average life expectancy of the lamp. Having a regular programme of lighting maintenance in place will help uphold good levels of light, as an engineer can test the lumen output.
MAXIMISING ROI Using LED lamps from a reputable manufacturer with a robust, five year warranty will also help achieve maximum value for money. If and when a product fails to meet the manufacturers claims, they will usually replace it without question. Compared to traditional lighting
solutions, LED lighting is a very low energy product that can be extremely effective in reducing running costs and carbon emissions. High quality LED lamps from leading brands can be expensive, which increases the payback time. However, buying cheap LED lamps can be false economy, as the failure rate will be higher and ultimately
increase the overall cost of the project. To accurately predict the return from
their investment in new lighting, businesses must look beyond the initial upfront installation costs, and include the cost of ongoing maintenance.
Quicklight
www.quicklight.co.uk T: 0800 917 5721
Enter 221 ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING | OCTOBER 2014 21
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