Member Article

Light Up Your Life For Less To Stop Seasonal Changes

Energy saving lights could prevent the early onset of the seasons, according to an industry expert.

Lee Halliday, sales and marketing manager at BLE Lighting & Power Ltd in Sheffield, was speaking after a recent study found that spring arrived more than a week early this year due to artificial night lighting which led to tree buds growing prematurely.

He said: “Traditionally there is a lot of lighting out there that uses old technology and is less energy efficient. It is more efficient to have LED or induction lighting and you can also apply lighting controls including daylight harvesting and non-occupancy sensors.

“There is a whole range of different controls you can apply to lighting that is more efficient, it’s not just about turning lights on or off but about dimming them down. A lot of energy is wasted but with the right product those issues can be addressed.

The study by the University of Exeter’s ecology and conservation department found that buds began forming 7.5 days early in bright areas

Lee added: “Old technology wastes a certain amount of energy, new LED lights will reduce that greatly just through light replacement – if you replace a 400 watt fitting with a LED light at 200 watts there’s a significant saving to be had. If you apply controls on top of that savings will continue to increase.

“We want to get customers to see they can reduce energy. The return on investment can be quite short, in some cases 12 months, after that everything then starts going in their back pocket.”

According to the report over the last 150 years, the natural night-time environment has been drastically altered by the proliferation of man-made artificial lighting. In 2001, it was estimated that almost a fifth of the Earth’s land surface was polluted by light, and subsequently the amount of artificial light has been increasing at approximately six per cent annually.

For more information please visit the BLE Lighting & Power website at: http://www.blesales.co.uk

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Poppy-PR .