enLighten retrofits NSW Land and Housing property

enLighten Australia was awarded the contract to retrofit LED lighting in NSW Land and Housing Corporation’s property in Eastlakes.

The corporation owns and manages the state’s portfolio of 144,000 social housing dwellings in NSW. 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.

The 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. The 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.

enLighten’s eight-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.

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 78,432 kWh 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, resulting 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 tenders to supply and install the Chamaeleon LED light in common area lighting upgrades across 15 properties in the Sydney metropolitan area.