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Conserving
energy has always been a top priority
at the University of Warwick - and Ex-Or
Limited is a key player in its on-going
quest to save energy costs.
Control
systems from Ex-Or have been installed
across the campus. A number of lecture
theatres also enjoy an added bonus -
the system also regulates their heating
and ventilation.
Virtually
every area of the University’s
Ramphal Building is fitted with Ex-Or’s
lighting control systems - including
ten seminar rooms and Ramphal's hi-tech
lecture theatre, which seats 400 people
and is the largest on the campus. Elsewhere
throughout the university Ex-or controls
operate in a bio-sciences library, computer
rooms, cloakrooms, reception and corridors.
Ex-Or
have installed a wide variety of their
LightSpot controls throughout the building.
Utilities
Manager Alistair Lawry explained that
Ex-Or’s sophisticated systems
help the University save electricity,
which gobbles up £1.3 million
of its total annual energy bill of £2.41
million.
"Although
it represents only a third of our energy
consumption, electricity accounts for
more than half of the actual bill, so
we do all we can to keep costs down.
Good housekeeping helps to save around
10 per cent, but we also invest in energy-efficient
systems such as those supplied by Ex-Or
in all new buildings.
"We
are a public body, so we continually
strive for value for money. When we
invest in energy-saving schemes, we
aim to achieve a payback of less than
three years. There was only a minimal
increase in electricity consumption
last year, in spite of the fact that
student numbers have grown, we have
more floor space and we have acquired
much more energy-hungry IT equipment.
Ex-Or is helping us stop it getting
out of control."
Alistair
added that before Ex-Or systems were
fitted, it was difficult to keep a close
check on energy use: "It was partly
due to human nature, but also down to
the special character of campus life.
People tend to think that they are not
responsible for switching off lights
in centrally timetabled rooms, so if
they are manually controlled, they are
often left on for no reason.
"There
are parts of the campus that used to
look like Blackpool illuminations at
night, with lights often left on in
empty rooms. And because post-graduate
students, in particular, keep unsociable
hours when doing their research, there
was an obvious need for automatic and
effective lighting control."
"In
use, Ex-Or's systems proved to be more
sensitive than other units which had
been trialled, and a demonstration showed
that they stayed on even if there were
little movement. So when we needed to
replace ceilings and install high-efficiency
light fittings, we fitted the company's
automatic lighting controls as well.
"They
also make the campus more secure, because
security staff can easily check unoccupied
buildings. If they see lights on when
they shouldn’t be, they know there
must be an unauthorised person in there."
Alistair
confirmed that the University were pleased
with Ex-Or's professional and efficient
approach: "We are very impressed
with the level of service we receive
and the quality and reliability of equipment.
"We
never get any comments made about the
Ex-Or automatic lighting control systems,
which shows they are working unobtrusively,
serving their purpose and only supplying
lighting when needed.”
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