BRIGHTENING UP
Ivan Sproule, business programmes manager at the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, highlights the success of a recent smart lighting pilot
ast year, the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) piloted a new smart lighting grant for small and mediumsized enterprises (SMEs) funded by the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment.
SMEs play a vital role in the Irish economy, providing over 90% of national employment and contributing significantly to GDP and export income. While individually SMEs consume only small to moderate amounts of energy, collectively they account for a significant portion of national and indeed global energy demand.
Energy efficiency helps SMEs to cut costs, frees up resources that can be invested in more productive activities, and makes them more resilient and competitive.
Lighting is a significant cost for many SMEs – it is the second highest cost for many businesses after staff costs. New developments in lighting technology, particularly light emitting diode (LED) technology, mean that businesses can
reduce their lighting bills by 50% or more.
Over 60 facilities benefitted from support through SEAI’s smart lighting pilot, covering businesses such as hotels, small retail outlets, car parks and some service businesses.
The overall investment by SEAI totalled €540,000 which leveraged a total investment in the supply and installation of energy efficient lighting of about €1.4m. The return on investment for those businesses varied between two years and three and a half years.
Dublin-based self-storage specialist Nesta was one of the participants in the smart lighting pilot.
A family-run indigenous business established in 1989, Nesta is the largest and oldest self-storage provider in Ireland.
Nesta upgraded four facilities in and
around Dublin with modern LED lighting technology supplied by Rayal. For a total investment of over €100,000 it secured funding of €40,000 from SEAI.
In line with the requirements under the scheme, Nesta installed a smart meter to measure the electricity used by the facilities for a period of time before the lighting upgrade and also for a period post upgrade.
Initially, the company had projected energy savings of 50% on average across the four facilities. The end result however was an average 64% saving.
“Nesta benefitted from a smart lighting pilot grant from SEAI, which we were delighted to receive, and our facilities are now much more attractive and brighter,” says Brian Hefferon, managing director, Nesta.
“Even better again, they are using less energy and are more sustainable in their operations.
“More importantly, the upgrade is helping us to reduce our costs and be more successful in the highly competitive selfstorage market.”
“Over 60 facilities benefitted from support through SEAI’s smart lighting pilot, covering businesses such as hotels, small retail outlets, car parks and some service businesses”