The Client
One of the world’s most respected independent schools, Eton College, has reduced energy costs by more than 61% with a full lighting upgrade in three of its houses.
The Brief
Eton College, founded in 1440 by Henry VI, commissioned energy saving specialists SaveMoneyCutCarbon to survey and complete the LED lighting retrofit in Common House Lane, Timbralls and Villiers House buildings.
Eton College wanted to ensure it met three main objectives with the lighting project:
- Better light quality – some areas had aged fixtures
- Energy efficiency –annual savings on lighting bills
- Sustainability – carbon emissions reduction
The Solution
The SaveMoneyCutCarbon Consultative Sales team replaced more than 770 lamps and fixtures including panels, tubes, downlights and lamps in the three buildings, including corridors, communal areas and stairwells, where luminaires with a microwave sensor and dimming function were installed where possible.
The installation team, all fully DBS checked, also overcame the challenge of fitting tubes into some of the bespoke luminaires, ensuring that specialist plastic panels were cut to size as part of the retrofit solution, replacing prismatic panels that were aged and discoloured.
SaveMoneyCutCarbon managed the entire retrofit from survey to specification, installation, testing and monitoring.
Better quality LEDs provide an excellent light that is very reliable and they have a long service life of up to 50,000 hours. This also means that maintenance required is substantially less, further reducing costs.
In contrast, incandescent light bulbs typically last around 1,000 hours and fluorescents have a useful life of roughly 5,000 hours before the light degrades.
The LED lighting is fully supported with a no-quibble, five-year manufacturers’ warranty.
One main challenge to overcome was the need to complete the works during the school holiday period, which gave a narrow opening to carry out the retrofit and increased pressure on the installation team.
Summary
- The LED retrofit will reduce lighting bills by more than 61%
- Savings will be more than £9,500 a year
- Carbon footprint will be cut by nearly 62%
- Return on investment in 4.67 years (based on 30-week per year usage)
Annual Savings
-
9,500
£ saved
-
61%
kWh
-
4.6
years payback