Chalmor:

Reduced lighting costs for Addenbrookes Hospital

Addenbrookes Hospital in Cambridge has significantly reduced its energy consumption and carbon footprint by upgrading over 1000 existing lighting fittings using Chalmor’s EasiFit T5 kit. As well as fast payback, a key factor in the choice of Chalmor was that this was the only conversion product on the market with EMC (electromagnetic compatibility) compliance – an important consideration in hospitals.

The EasiFit T5 kit enables fluorescent fittings using T12 or T8 tubes to be quickly converted to high efficiency T5 fluorescent light sources. In the Rosie Maternity Hospital, for example, 5ft T12 fittings in corridors were converted to 4ft T5 fittings, stripping out the existing control gear and using the EasiFit’s integral gear as this proved to be more efficient. In this way, there were reductions in installed electrical load and running costs while maintaining a comparable light output.

“The conversion in the Rosie is expected to save around £8,000 a year, giving a payback of 1.2 years, and there are additional savings on maintenance costs because of the longer lamp life, explained Maintenance Manager Ian Jackson. “In the medical records area, where T8 lamps were converted, we expect to see a payback within 1.8 years,” he added.

The project was part-funded through a grant from Salix, an independent company funded by the Carbon Trust to help public sector organisations invest in energy efficiency. Chalmor worked closely with the hospital to provide the necessary information to obtain the grant.

"The project has been a great success, the new fittings have proved to be very reliable and we’re very pleased with the results,"
Ian Jackson concluded.

Chalmor delivers major savings for Myerscough College

A combination of energy efficient Brilliance T5 fluorescent light fittings and BlueWave two-channel controllers from Chalmor is helping Myerscough College near Preston save up to a predicted £39,000 per annum on lighting costs. The savings on carbon emissions, combined with a fast payback, enabled the College to qualify for a substantial energy efficiency grant from the Learning Skills Council (LSC).

Myerscough College is a Higher and Further Education College dating back to the 19th Century, with a strong emphasis on land-based courses, ranging from agricultural studies to a variety of sport courses.

As part of a wide range of initiatives to reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions, the College’s Head of Sustainability and Special Projects, Allan Nickson, initiated a survey of lighting in the equestrian centre, sports hall and ancillary areas such as toilets.

“The 400W high pressure sodium lighting in the equestrian centre and sports hall was switched on in the mornings and occasionally left on all day, irrespective of natural daylight levels or occupancy,” he recalled. “Consequently, upgrading the lighting to more controllable, more efficient fluorescent lighting - with additional daylight and occupancy control so we aren’t relying on people to switch off the lighting - will save the College a great deal of money,” he added.

In the equestrian centre, 48 x 400W SON fittings were replaced on a point-for-point basis with 4 x 54W Brilliance fittings, linked to BlueWave controllers. As well as providing a higher light output, thus enhancing safety through improved visibility, this enables the lighting to switch off automatically when there is sufficient daylight, or when the space is not in use. The lighting is also zoned so that only parts of the centre that are in use are illuminated. The return on investment in this area is predicted at just 1.4 years.

A similar situation prevailed in the sports hall, where 18 x 400W SON fittings were replaced with Brilliance fittings and BlueWave controllers, giving a projected payback of 2.1 years. Further BlueWave controllers have been installed in toilets to provide occupancy control of the lighting.

Even without additional control, Brilliance fittings provide a much longer lamp life (24,000 hours) than the 8000 hour life of SON light sources. As the enhanced control is predicted to reduce the running hours of the lighting by 60%, this will enable the College to make significant savings on maintenance. In the equestrian centre, for example, the re-lamping schedule will be extended from 0.8 years to 5.8 years.

In order to qualify for the LSC grant, the College had to demonstrate that the return on investment would be less than five years and that the capital cost would be less than £200 per tonne of CO2 saved.

“The LSC grant was critical to the upgrade work proceeding and Chalmor proved very helpful in providing the required figures. The new lighting has been well received by users and has made a significant contribution to our energy reduction programme,” Allan Nickson concluded.

Chalmor’s Endurance slashes lighting costs at Fire Service College

Maintenance-free Endurance light fittings from energy services specialist Chalmor are helping the Fire Service College save around 33% on the energy and maintenance costs of lighting its vehicle workshop.

The Fire Service College provides unique facilities for both practical and theoretical fire fighting, fire safety and accident emergency training and is the premier fire related training establishment in the world. High energy and maintenance costs in the vehicle workshop led the College to re-evaluate its lighting, in consultation with Chalmor. Following a thorough analysis and energy audit, Chalmor recommended replacing the existing lighting with zero-maintenance Endurance fittings.

The workshop was originally lit with 179 fluorescent fittings, each using a single 70W lamp with a need for re-lamping approximately every two years. These were replaced with 49 Endurance fittings to achieve the same light levels and distribution. With a 60,000 hour life, the Endurance fittings will not need re-lamping for about 19 years, saving over £20,000 on maintenance costs alone.

In addition, the energy-efficient Endurance luminaires are expected to reduce electricity consumption by 460 MWh during their life, equating to over £22,000 saving in electrical costs, based on current prices and including the Climate Change Levy. These savings on electrical costs are likely to be even greater as electricity prices increase.

In environmental terms, these energy savings will lead to a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions of 276 tonnes over 19 years.

“We are delighted with the Endurance luminaires, which have greatly eased our maintenance workload”, commented facilities engineer Trevor Arthurs. “With a fleet of 30 fire appliances, plus additional vehicles, the workshop is vital to our operation.

“In addition, because of the machinery being used, we had to change each fluorescent tube as soon as it failed in order to maintain safe light levels. With Endurance, there is no re-lamping so we can plan our other maintenance activities more effectively. The combination of energy and maintenance savings has made this a very sensible investment for the College,” he added.

Guaranteed for five years, each Endurance luminaire is supplied with high frequency control gear as standard, to optimise lamp performance, as well as providing instant strike and re-strike capabilities. The luminaires are available with symmetrical or asymmetrical optics to optimise light distribution for each project. Lamps have a colour temperature of 4000K as standard, with other options available on request.

Cutting carbon with HM Prison Service

Chalmor has been working closely with HM Prison Service and the Carbon Trust to help the Prison Service meet its Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) obligations. Solutions include upgrading of older fluorescent lighting to high efficiency T5 fluorescent lighting and replacement of 400W high pressure sodium (SON) lighting with Brilliance fittings in sport facilities.

Chalmor optimises heating control at Reaseheath College

Chalmor EMU energy management systems and temperature control sensors are helping Reaseheath College to reduce running costs through improved control of energy consumption and automation of routine tasks. The annual savings on energy and labour costs are expected to be in the order of £35,000 per annum, giving a projected return on investment of less than 1.3 years.

“Reaseheath College is a specialist land-based college in Cheshire offering a diverse range of vocational programmes and qualifications. The main campus has a wide range of building types from administration areas, classrooms and workshops through to residential accommodation blocks – all serviced by 15 boiler rooms.

Before the new controls installation, the existing stand-alone analogue boiler controls only offered limited functionality and had to be set manually. As occupancy of the buildings varies considerably from day to day, this required regular visits by college staff to each boiler room to adjust the heating accordingly.

Installation of a Chalmor EMU in each boiler room, linked to temperature control sensors, has enabled the college to achieve tighter control of its heating systems. The controllers are linked to a central PC via the college’s IT network so adjustments can me made remotely, saving an estimated three hours a day of technician time.

In addition, the system monitors energy consumption of each zone and triggers an alarm if consumption exceeds expected rates, or if any plant fails. Precise monitoring in this way is helping the college to continue to fine-tune the performance of its heating systems.

“Following a competitive tender exercise, we selected Chalmor on the basis of both technical performance and competitive pricing,” explained Director of Resources Mark Embrey. “With so many variables affecting the heating system it hasn’t yet been possible to accurately quantify the savings we are making. However, through our experience of the systems it’s clear those savings make this a very worthwhile investment,” he added.

The EMU electronic controls allow more precise time control for each zone, working on a seven day programme to minimise the need for adjustments. They are also able to learn the characteristics of each system so that on/off switching is optimised to maintain comfort conditions with minimum energy consumption.

This feature is combined with weather compensation to match heating patterns to ambient temperature conditions, boiler sequencing and anti-cycling to maximise the efficiency of the boilers.