Public housing LED lighting upgrade

Project Payback

LED lighting retrofit of common area lighting in Sydney residential unit block achieves 88% energy savings and 15% power factor improvement

Savings

Energy: 88%

Electricity: 78,432 kWh pa kWh pa

Project Overview

Common area LED lighting upgrades deliver $420K in annual savings for NSW-Land-& Housing-Corporation.

From 2011 – 15, the NSW Land and Housing Corporation ran a program to improve the energy efficiency of the common areas of 236 multi-unit residential buildings within their property portfolio. They had identified that approximately 70% of the electricity used in the common areas (corridors, fire stairs, carparks, lift lobbies) was due to lighting, with much of it operating 24 hours a day.

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The Solution

The project involved the removal of over 13,000 fluorescent emergency and non emergency lighting and replacing them with an energy efficient vandal proof light. enLighten’s Chamaeleon LED light was chosen for its proven energy efficiency and compliance with NSW Land & Housing Corporation's detailed specification requirements. NSW Government Energy Savings Certificate (ESC) rebates worth $385,000 were claimed for the project, which delivered combined energy savings of 2.35mWh pa.

The common area energy efficiency lighting upgrade works were undertaken in Wollongong, Sydney, Central Coast, Newcastle, mid and far north coast of New South Wales.

The financial savings equate to approximately $420,000 p.a in direct electrical savings (at a rate of 18 cents per kilowatt hour). In addition to direct energy savings there are also significant maintenance savings. Many of the lights have now passed their warranty period and continue to operate trouble-free 4.5 years after they were installed.

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Project Scope

NSW Land and Housing Corporation owns and manages the state’s portfolio of 144,000 social housing dwellings in NSW. Working in partnership with Housing NSW they are one of the largest providers of social housing in the world.

Approximately 70% of the electricity used by NSW Land and Housing Corporation residential properties is for common area lighting, which amounts to over 21,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions every year. The vast majority of NSW Land and Housing Corporation properties have old, inefficient T8 fluorescent lighting installed and much of this lighting is operating 24 hours per day.

NSW Land and Housing Corporation selected properties for lighting energy efficiency upgrades to be undertaken in the 2011/12 financial year that had high electricity consumption and long lighting operating hours. enLighten Australia was awarded the tender to retrofit LED lighting in lift lobbies, corridors and stairwells of a large 9-level residential unit block in Eastlakes.

NSW Land and Housing Corporation received a gross rebate of $15,787 incl GST from the sale of the Energy Savings Certificates generated from the project under the NSW Energy Savings Scheme.

Products used

A mixture of 8 chip Chamaeleon emergency and non emergency lights were installed in fire stairs, lobbies and corridors which required 24 hour lighting. The steel skirt accessory was applied across all installations, making all lights vandal resistant.

The retrofit resulted in a reduction of 79 lights installed (122 Chamaeleons replacing 201 T8s), producing the same lighting output levels. The microwave motion sensors of the Chamaeleon light, which operate on a reduced lighting output in standby mode and full light in occupancy mode, enable electricity savings without turning off the lights completely. This was an important factor in making the lighting feel safer for residents.

Electricity Savings Results

Average daily electricity consumption data supplied by NSW Land and Housing Corporation indicated a 62% reduction in total electricity usage across the site. Data logging conducted by enLighten on a circuit with mixed lighting types indicated an energy reduction of 81%.

One year post installation, the annual electricity savings of the lighting upgrade project,supported by billing data, has been 78,432Kwh or 88%. This figure was higher than original estimates of 81% and delivered cost savings of $14,253 (incl GST).

The following graphs outline the sustained and consistent reduction in electricity consumption post installation and the 15% increase in power factor. Power factor improvements indicate an improvement in the efficiency of the lighting circuit and translates into substantial future reductions in Ausgrid’s kVA energy demand charge.

Since the Nov 2011 Eastlakes installation, enlighten Australia has won a further five rounds of commercial tender to supply & install the Chamaeleon LED light in common area lighting upgrades across 15 properties in the Sydney metropolitan area.