News & Media > Highway Services
24:08:2011
Street lighting partnership saves energy, carbon and money
Cartledge, May Gurney's specialist street lighting business, formed the partnership with the Royal Borough of Kingston-upon-Thames Council in 2006. Since then, Kingston's street lighting energy and carbon consumption have been reduced by approximately 15%. The partnership runs for an initial period of 15 years, with the option of a further five-year extension.
The significant savings have been achieved by installing the Philips Cosmopolis white light solution and replacing illuminated bollards with non-illuminated and solar bollards.
A review of lighting levels led to the implementation of electronic control gears which are permanently dimmed by 25%. As a result, energy consumption has dropped from 167 watts per hour to 124 watts per hour, with no adverse effects on road and pavement lighting. This approach has reduced energy consumption by approximately 160,000 kwh and cut Kingston's annual CO2 footprint by 83 tonnes.
Gary Mills, managing director of May Gurney Highway Services, said: “The major energy and carbon reductions in Kingston are really encouraging and wouldn't have been possible without the public and private sectors working together in such an innovative and forward-thinking way.”
Graham Cartledge, managing director of Cartledge, added: "The long-term relationship we have developed with Kingston has been crucial to our joint success. Kingston had the foresight to establish the partnership in a bid to reduce costs and improve services, before the real need to deliver ‘more for less' in a climate in which the demands on public sector spending cuts transpired.
"Working together we have been able to introduce innovations that are up to 30% more efficient than conventional solutions, and substantially reduce CO2 emissions.”
