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Barnsley
Metropolitan Borough Council is enjoying
an annual £27,000 reduction in
its electricity bills following the
completion of an ambitious project to
curb the excessive use of lights in
its primary schools.
Following
a competitive tender, the authority
appointed Ex-Or Ltd, European leader
in lighting management systems, to install
LightSpot presence detectors and photocells
throughout 30 schools in the area.
Before
the installation, lights in the schools
were switched on in the morning and
left on all day whether or not they
were required. Ex-Or’s LightSpot
equipment allows the lights to come
on only when the presence of occupants
is detected. Once occupants leave the
area, LightSpot automatically switches
the lights off. Additional photocell
equipment ensures lights do not come
on when levels of natural light are
sufficiently high.
Having
secured the contract on the basis of
a schedule tender worth over £100,000,
Ex-Or then had less than three months
to survey the buildings, identify and
manufacture the necessary equipment
and then get it installed and invoiced
in order to secure compliance with the
terms of a Government-sponsored grant
that helped the council to pay for the
installation.
A
combination of Gold, Long Range, Standard
and MidRange LightSpot detectors was
used to achieve maximum lighting efficiency
in the schools’ classrooms, assembly
halls, gyms, nursery areas and staff
rooms.
Dick
Bradford, principal mechanical services
and energy engineer for the project,
said: “A combination of cost,
superior technology, reputation and
ability to install and commission in
such a short time frame were the elements
that led to us specifying Ex-Or.
“In
particular, the timing of the installation
was critical, to enable us to qualify
for funding help from the SchoolEnergy
programme which is operated by the CREATE
branch of the Government-sponsored Energy
Savings Trust. Ex-Or met the deadlines
with time to spare but there was no
upheaval during the installation. In
fact the Ex-Or team did most of the
work outside school hours to minimise
any disruption.
“We
are delighted with the way the system
operates. It was a trouble-free installation
and I have had nothing but good reports
from staff in terms of day-to-day operation.
“
Lighting control like this helps meet
the Council’s need to be environmentally
sensitive. It is delivering annual savings
of £27,000 per year from our electricity
bill. In terms of payback, we will see
a return on our investment in just twenty
one months and we will continue to save
a five figure sum in reduced electricity
costs for every subsequent year.”
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