Using corridor lighting control to save money on your energy bills

Saving money and reducing energy consumption is always a worthwhile exercise.  Some changes can require serious upheaval while others are as simple as changing the lights!

Lighting an office corridor may not seem like a big energy saving deal but in larger buildings across the UK where the corridors are used infrequently and for short periods of time, the energy used to light these spaces all day, every day can easily add up in your businesses energy bills.

Corridor Lighting Control systems are the ideal solution for commercial premises that want to save money on their energy bills while still providing clearly lit, safe corridor space in their workplace.

How does corridor lighting controls work?

The technology is all in the lamp (light bulb) and fittings.  There is no extra wiring and no holes have to be drilled to fit them.  Corridor lighting lamps work standalone using microwave detectors that allow the fittings to operate based on presence/motion in the corridor.  When there is no presence detected in the corridor, the light level will operate at 3-5% light emission.  When motion is detected in the corridor, the lamp fitting will illuminate up to 100% in a controlled fading up effect before calmly dimming back down to 3-5% when the corridor has become motionless again after a set timed period.  The lamps can be fitted with time delays to suit the building owners specific needs and can even be set to switch off completely at set times at night when the office is closed to further reduce energy consumption.

How much money can corridor lighting controls save a business?

While the exact savings depend entirely on how many corridors and floors you need covered along with the day to day foot traffic that uses the corridors, the energy efficient programming of corridor control lamps can save you up to 60% on existing corridor lighting energy use.  Combined with the fact that these are LED lighting fixtures enhances the energy savings that can be made by having corridor lighting installed in your business.

LED lighting has many advantages for commercial, retail and industrial business sectors when upgrading to LED lighting from inefficient halogen and compact fluorescent lamps (CFL). This includes:

• Energy Efficiency
• Long life span
• Increased brightness
• Reduced heat output
• Reliability
• Increased colour rendering
• Design flexibility
• Instant results

At HF, we fit LED lighting upgrades and corridor lighting at the request of our clients and as part of the results of energy reports that we can produce for our clients.

What is an energy report?

Energy reports use monitoring devices fitted directly to your businesses electrical supply that track your energy usage over the course of a normal week. They take an entire weeks worth of data, recording live readings every one minute (though it can be set to as low as one second), 24 hours a day. Using this data, we can compile energy reports that track the usage peaks in your business throughout a typical operating day and week in the business.

An example of a hospitality business and their energy usage increase during evening services

Why is this beneficial?

Knowing when you are using the energy most allows your business to track and change your energy usage habits.  We have helped customers save thousands on their energy bills because an energy report has highlighted some of the following:

Energy usage during closed hours

We have helped one client realise that they were wasting a significant amount of energy on electrical equipment because it was not being turned off properly at night.  The allowed the company to put in place new operating procedures that ensured office equipment was shut down properly at the close of business – cutting down their energy bills.

Spikes in the usage

We have helped a client to spot that they had been frequently getting very close to the maximum rated load that their buildings electrical system could take.  They were going to be installing even more new electrical equipment that would have pushed this beyond the limit and caused the entire system to shut down.  Our energy report helped this night club business prevent a ‘black out’ which would have cost them customers and damaged their reputation.

Planning for the future

While more and more businesses are looking to switch from gas to electric heating systems, they must first check that their electrical set up can handle the increased load.  Replacing a complete central heating system with electrical radiators is not as simple as plugging a new devices into the wall.  It requires planning and potentially new electrical wiring installations. Energy Reports can help determine whether your electrical set up can handle the loads.

Energy Usage

One of the more obvious benefits of an energy report is that it shows the electrical energy used over a set period of time.  This means you can directly compare it to your energy suppliers data, ensuring that they are charging you the correct amount. We can highlight the energy usage savings that LED lighting and corridor control systems can have on your business.

Green Energy Services

From energy surveys and design all the way to full installation and year round maintenance contracts, we offer a bright way forward for energy solutions in your business. Leading the charge towards a more sustainable and efficient future, HF Green Energy Services is a bold new direction from one of the oldest and most highly regarded services contractors in the UK.

Find out more

As with any new technology, there is much to discover for businesses in the UK over the potential applications, benefits and money saving benefits of green energy. With offices across the UK, we can offer our green energy services across Scotland, England and Northern Ireland and are happy to discuss the full range of exciting services that we can offer your business as you move towards a greener future.

Please call us on 0800 783 9480 or email info@hf-group.co.uk.