Upgrade your lighting to become more sustainable
You probably come across the word ‘sustainable’ on a daily basis. Whether you’re reading the news, watching TV adverts, writing a business proposal or browsing your local Supermarket. The world is striving to become more environmentally friendly and businesses are under increasing pressure to make their operations more sustainable.
Taking steps to become more eco-friendly can seem like a costly, lengthily process. But, in the long run, you’ll benefit from a reduction in your operating costs whilst doing good for the environment. It’s a win win.
Energy usage is sky high
A 2022 eEnergy report revealed that UK businesses were set to waste enough energy to power Greater London for more than seven years. Approximately 30% of all purchased energy is wasted in commercial buildings due to inefficiencies – this equates to approximately £33.9billion.
For most commercial buildings high rates of electricity consumption is in lights, heating and cooling and often machines are left running 24/7.
Most existing buildings have been constructed without energy efficiency as one of their key priorities. Throw in the fact that energy costs are spiralling and extreme weather is putting unprecedented demands on building usage.
This means that the potential to become more sustainable and enjoy energy savings is high.
Lets talk lighting
In this article we look at what changes you can make to your lighting to make your business more sustainable and to get you the best return on investment.
Turn out the lights
In a commercial environment, keeping lights on unnecessarily is a key area of energy waste. Talk to your employees, cleaners, suppliers and ask them to be mindful of when they turn the lights on, and to ensure that they turn them off when they exit the premises. Alternatively, install motion sensors so the lights only turn on when needed (more on that below).
More efficient technology
Up to 75% of lighting installations are thought to be out-of-date and unable to meet current design standards.
Consider replacing older fluorescent tubes and sodium high bay lights with modern high frequency T5 fluorescent tubes or LEDs. Install dimmable lighting which automatically dims to emit less light during the daytime.
Installing LED lighting alone could reduce a building’s energy consumption by up to 30% states the eEnergy report.
Lighting Controls
Energy.Gov reports that installing a lighting control system can help reduce electricity bills by as much as 30%.
Lighting control systems give the ability to manage the building lighting in a variety of ways – dimmer switches can control brightness, motion sensors will detect movement, timer controlled lighting means you can opt to have the lights turn off at a certain time of day and ‘smart switches’ will allow you to manage the lighting from a computer or handhold device.
Lighting Design for Efficiency
Planning the lighting design throughout a building can ensure that all lights are being used at their optimum capacity. This step can be particularly useful when constructing a new commercial building or renovating an existing building.
For a property to be energy efficient it must consider lux level requirements. Lux refers to the unit used to measure the intensity of the light level hitting a surface, typically a wall or floor.
In order to know how much light is required in a certain space, a calculation of the lux level should be performed according to the size of the building.
A real life example
We worked with Southern Co-Op at Freshwater, Isle of White, providing a comprehensive project solution which included consultancy, design and installation of all the electrical equipment including customised LED lighting. Working collaboratively we successfully supported the Southern Co-Op’s sustainability aims.
Part of Southern Co-Op’s overall sustainability practice, all electricity used by the Freshwater store came from renewable sources through a green energy contract. Plus, the LED lighting solution TDS Electrical installed in the store proved to be 60% more efficient than standard lighting systems.
We also installed a vehicle charging station for customers who have electric vehicles which they can use free of charge.
Other ways to become more eco-friendly and save energy costs
Energy consumption goes beyond lighting, here’s a few other things you can consider to become more sustainable and energy efficient:
- Insulation measures to cut back on heating bills
- Renewable technology to generate your own power throughout the year
- Install a smart meter
- Choose green suppliers and partners
- Upgrade to energy efficient boilers
- Install a building management system
Trust TDS Electrical with your sustainability goals
We’ve brought energy efficiency and sustainability to the forefront of what we do to help you reduce your environmental impact and operate more cost effectively.
Whatever your electrical contracting challenge, talk to TDS Electrical. That’s what we’re here for.
