Enigin Update - Getting Lighting Right Could Save UK Businesses £700m
THE UK’s Carbon Trust has revealed that businesses and the public sector can make their own lighting more efficient and save up to £700m a year.
The Carbon Trust advises that cost-effective measures such as lighting refurbishment and sensor-based controls can lead to annual cost savings of 20 percent across all organisations. This is the equivalent of 12 weeks worth of carbon emissions for Greater London. Installation of lighting controls can cut electricity use by 30-50 percent across industries including food and manufacturing, retail and typical office environments.
Lighting accounts for a fifth of electricity generated in the UK, and so even straightforward no or low-cost measures such as switching lights off and adjusting basic controls and settings, could still save up to £350m or a very significant 2.2mt of CO2 per year.
Richard Rugg, Director, Carbon Trust Programmes, said: “As the Christmas lights go on and the days grow shorter, I’m urging businesses to think about the huge savings they could make by boosting the efficiency of their lighting systems.
“From simple reminders to turn the lights off, to installing the latest in lighting technology, there’s £700m and 4.4million tonnes in CO2 emissions to be saved by UK businesses making its lighting more efficient.....demonstrates how businesses can dramatically reduce both their carbon output and their bottom line. During this dark time of the year the advice the guide offers couldn’t be more relevant and implementing these simple measures will result in reduced costs across your business.”
Enigin Distributors continue to help many businesses and organisations to save on costs and emissions by installing energy efficiency lighting and lighting systems from Enigin - protecting the bottom line from ever increasing energy bills.
Below are some top tips from the Carbon Trust:
- Install effective lighting controls. They are the key to ensuring that the right light is provided in the right place at the right time. It does not matter how efficient a luminaire might be - if it is not controlled it will waste energy and money, and lead to unnecessary CO2 emissions.
- Don’t rule out a more thorough refurbishment. It may appear difficult to replace existing wiring arrangements but the benefits of making a deeper refurbishment often outweigh the cost and inconvenience.
- Think about luminaires, not just lamps. Lamps are housed in fixtures called luminaires. Make sure they are designed to avoid glare on computer screens and consider illuminating the walls and ceilings so that the user’s whole visual field is considered and not just their desk.
- Maintain luminaires regularly. This includes cleaning, especially the reflectors and panel diffusers, and ensures the lighting performs as it was designed.
Picture of Enigin plc's LESS range - Lighting Energy Saver System.
