Energy efficiency is an important consideration in lighting design, and this has been reinforced by the new Building Regulations 2000 Conservation of Fuel and Power Approved Document Part L1A and Part L1B 2010 which have just come in to force (for a useful and practical guide see the downloads section below)
The Regulations and compliance with them are complex and we can’t discuss the full extent of them here, but one of the key recommendations in the Domestic Building Services Compliance Guide 2010 is that 75% of fixed internal light fittings are greater than 45 lamp lumens per circuit watt. The good news is that carefully selected LED, fluorescent or cold cathode fittings all meet this criteria, and can produce exciting and atmospheric results when carefully designed in to a scheme.
In addition, there are a number of measures that we employ over and above the Part L requirements to increase energy efficiency:
- We employ a higher than average number of lighting circuits, so that you only light what you want to light at any one time. This is contrast to a ‘standard’ scheme that might give you one or two circuits in a room, so you have the option of all on or all off.
- Using a lighting control system significantly saves energy consumption. Unlike a conventional rotary dimmer knob a lighting control system enables you to have an almost linear relationship between dimming and power consumption. For example, dimming the fittings by 10% reduces power consumption by 10%, dimming by 25% reduces power consumption by 20%.
- When we programme the control system we never programme the circuits to be at greater than 95% output, as your eye cannot tell the difference between 95% and 100%, but energy consumption is reduced by 5%. When scenes are set many of the circuits would be at significantly lower output, but the designs enable you to have enough light where you want it.
- The control system is also used to do things like automatically dimming or turning off circuits after a certain hour, or after a certain elapsed time since they were turned on. You can have functionality such as ‘whole house off’ at the main exit door, or beside the bed for night time use.
- The huge majority of halogen lamps that we supply are all of a ‘heat recyling’ variety so that, for example, a lamp which takes 30w or 35w of power gives you the equivalent light output of a normal 50w lamp. This gives you energy savings of up to 40%
Related Items
Useful Downloads
Domestic Building Services Compliance Guide - 2010 Edition (PDF)
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