T-Word Explains: How can LEDs deliver energy savings?

LED light fittings can produce significant energy savings in comparison to traditional lighting products for commercial and industrial buildings.

Lighting must fulfil different requirements in different environments. Switching to LED solutions that improve the quality of illumination, without increasing energy consumption, is a key investment for facility managers.

For example, Tamlite supplied a full LED solution to Leominster Community Hospital, overhauling their existing fluorescent system. The switch to LED alone, before the addition of lighting controls such as motion detectors, led to energy savings of 61%.

Lighting within a facility can incur a relatively high energy cost, compared to its usage. Therefore, it is crucial to reduce the energy consumption from lighting, in order to achieve significant reductions in energy costs within a facility.

For example, In educational establishments, lighting accounts for around 8% of total energy usage. However, electrical lighting in schools accounts for around 20% of total energy cost (Carbon Trust). This highlights the high costs of lighting in large establishments such as schools. LED fittings can significantly reduce overall running costs, by lowering energy bills with a more efficient lighting system, and minimising maintenance costs with dependable, high quality luminaires.

However, the switch to LED isn’t always enough. Options such as PIR sensors and presence detectors turn the lights off when the space is unoccupied to reduce time of use, while fully connected DALI-operated lighting systems offer greater control to provide exceptional long-term energy savings.

For many facilities, such as educational establishments, government schemes are available to assist in the initial investment into a new lighting system, provided the new lighting system expects to achieve significant energy savings. These government grants, such as the Salix Funding Scheme, can help facilities achieve a return on investment within just a few years.

You can discover more about how we build our LEDs with the environment in mind.