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 slash electricity bills and overhead costs. As official distributor for Pure Light LED Products, Referro Systems, a key distributor of control and automation solutions, is able to realise significant energy savings for its clients.
In a recent example, the replacement of outdated fluorescent lights at a large industrial client’s facilities with Pure Light LED lights fitted with built-in LMS reduced its electricity bill from a projected R4,5 million a year to a mere R193 000 per year, according to Referro Systems. “Prior to the Pure Light installation, they were consuming 351 kW for lighting. Following the installation, consumption is estimated to have dropped to 62 kW, with even further energy savings based on occupancy and daylight harvesting,” says managing director, Adrian 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.
Whether upgrading or retrofitting, Pure Light’s advanced LED luminaires guarantee significant energy savings. They have improved Lux intensity, thus contributing to improved productivity, a better working environment and enhanced worker safety, while also complying with occupational health and safety legislation.
Smith says that an integrated light management system 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. Customers that opt for this system can expect a further 15% saving on their monthly electricity account. 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 adds.
In both greenfields and brownfields projects, system designers implement the Pure Light products in standard software programs to optimise the positioning and type of luminaires required, ensuring maximum lighting efficiency for a given process or operation. Smith highlights that Pure Light has also developed innovative service offerings where premises are occupied by tenants who want the cost benefits that Pure Light brings, but face a landlord who shies away from the capital expenditure.
“We can offer a Pure Light installation in the premises occupied by the tenant at no upfront capital cost to the landlord. The tenant, who is responsible for the electricity bill, can enter into a service agreement with us for either a fixed monthly fee or a percentage of the saving achieved by switching to our energy efficient systems,” he says.
Local manufacturing translates to high quality, with advanced technology products that have been designed for local conditions and flexible service options. Despite these benefits, Smith says there are still those who focus solely on the cheapest options, which often are not the low-cost options they initially appear to be. “Like many others, the lighting market suffers with a deluge of imported poor quality, cheap products that promise quality performance but seldom perform. Pure Light products are locally certified at SANAS accredited facilities, ensuring peace of mind for customers,” he concludes.
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