Derby-based steel manufacturer, Eggleston Steel has invested in solar PV partnered with LED lighting to help reduce its energy costs across the business.
The energy efficiency measures were fitted across the company’s administration block and two factories.
“We have quite a high energy usage and decided that now was the time to become more environmentally friendly,” explained Eggleston Steel’s managing director, Richard Hewitt.
The solar array and LED lighting installations were carried out by integrated building solutions company, J Tomlinson. All in all, the company replaced 90 of its light fittings with LED units which were partnered with 288 solar modules – representing a £156,000 investment.
The energy efficiency measures are predicted to slash half a million pounds off the company’s electricity bills over the next 20 years. In addition, the measures will help negate the emission of 40 tonnes over the same period.
David Adams, chairman of J Tomlinson, said: “The new LED fittings are so much more efficient with their energy consumption and, as a result of the way they produce the light, it meant our team was able to reduce energy costs further by installing fewer fittings than were removed. To aid the energy savings even more, we installed LED fittings that have daylight dimming and presence detection. This means that should areas of the warehouse become well lit by natural light or have not been in use for 30 minutes, they will dim themselves down or turn off accordingly.”
In addition, the energy efficiency measures could form a key part of the business’ drive to achieve ISO 14001 for its environmental credentials.
