Premier Forest Products
Noble Green Energy helped timber and wood panel distributors invest in LED lighting.
Noble Green Energy installed LED lighting at a site in South Wales for Premier Forest Products, one of the UK’s leading importers and distributors of timber and panel products. Having already invested in solar PV at several sites, director Dilwyn Howells was no stranger to the benefits of investing in energy saving products and switching to LED lighting made perfect cost saving sense.
The Requirement
LED lights require low amounts of energy and create a minimal amount of wasteful heat which enables them to reduce electricity consumption by up to as much as 90%. They can last up to 60,000 hours which reduces both replacement and maintenance time and associated costs. They are very durable, being able to withstand jarring and bumping with no adverse effects. And at the end of their life, because they don’t contain harmful chemicals, they can be recycled which reduces carbon footprint.
Their site in South Wales had a traditional lighting system which was in need of modernisation. The site is split into two buildings, one containing the sawmill and the other, a workshop and office. A traditional high bay lighting scheme in the sawmill created uneven lighting which created undesirable, dimly lit areas. Once switched on, they took a while to reach full brightness and if switched off, needed five minutes or so to cool down before being able to turn on again. This slowed down operation and had the potential to cause a safety concern during situations such as a power outage.
The office was lit by fluorescent light fittings. These have been known to have an adverse effect on the health of staff. They have a limited light colour spectrum that has been linked to complaints of eye strain, fatigue and in some cases sleeping disorders. Modern LED lights contain a full spectrum of colours, much closer to natural daylight, which promotes health and well-being.
A full site survey of the lighting system was carried out by the team at Noble Green Energy and new plans drawn up which included additional safety lighting. An improvement to health and safety, these lights are installed above emergency escape routes. Although fully charged, they only illuminate during an emergency. A fully costed proposal was prepared which included the installation, expected energy savings from the investment and the payback period.
Added Value
Once installed, LED lighting provided immediate cost savings on their energy bill with savings of £9,285 per year across the site. With a payback of 3.4 years, this has encouraged the company to invest in LED light retrofits at their other sites in the near future too.
*Figures correct at the time of publishing.
Energy saving
£9,285 per annum
The timescale for the return on investment is expected to be less than four years.
“Planning LED lighting retrofits at other company sites.”
