Retrofitted lights could save millions

Over the past decade, more companies have come to understand the benefits of retrofitting their industrial facilities’ lighting solutions. “Not only does it hold more environmental benefits – as they significantly reduce carbon dioxide emissions – but these LED lights also have extended working life and, of course, slash electricity bills and overhead costs,” notes Adrian van Wyk, managing director of Referro Systems – a key distributor of control and automation solutions.

In a recent example, the replacement of outdated fluorescent lights at a large industrial client’s facilities with Pure Light LED lights, fitted with a built in light management system, reduced its electricity bill from a projected
R4.5 million a year to a mere R193,000 per year.

Through its partnership with Pure Light LED Products as official distributor, Referro Systems is able to realise significant energy savings for its clients. “Prior to the Pure Light installation, they were consuming 351kW for lighting. Following the installation, consumption is estimated to have dropped to 62kW,” notes Van Wyk.

The World Economic Forum’s Transforming Energy Demand report, released earlier this year, highlights that retrofitting existing buildings could reduce their energy intensity by almost 40%, and that creating more energy efficient buildings offers the potential to reduce global energy demand by 12%.

According to Sean Smith, CEO of Pure Light, few realise that lighting of warehouse and logistics facilities contributes as much as 70% to a business’ electricity bill. “With the latest increases in electricity charges in South Africa, this is particularly relevant,” he notes.

“Customers that opt for an integrated light management system can also expect a further 15% saving in cost on their monthly electricity account – a system that optimises when and where lighting is required due to time of day, season, and personnel occupation, switching off unnecessary lighting when it is not needed,” adds Smith.

He points out that retrofitting from fluorescent lights to LED lights also holds significant benefits for those businesses considering a switch to solar. “Changing to a Pure Light installation can save literally hundreds of thousands of rands on a solar installation capital cost, due to a reduced demand requirement from panels, inverters, and batteries,” he emphasises.