Discovery centre cuts energy use by 74%

Nestled in Sydney's Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park, Kalkari Discovery Centre is brimming with plants, animals and Aboriginal history to offer a centre for learning through a range of educational activities. A favourite among locals and visitors alike, the centre combines nature and important history with fun games to inform and inspire both adults and children.

The centre wanted to refurbish in order to lower energy consumption and reduce maintenance. The centre’s 50 W halogen lamps with magnetic transformer and 36 W T8 fluorescent tubes with magnetic ballast were replaced with new lighting installation that reduced the energy consumption by 74%. 

Offering a flexible solution for the centre's displays, D-CO LED is specifically designed as a halogen replacement offering very easy installation. The low-maintenance solution has a lifetime of 50,000 hours.

For the centre’s offices, Polar LED was selected because the troffer offers uniform vertical and horizontal illumination. The light distribution not only provides the correct lighting levels on the desks and task areas but also offers good levels of vertical luminance, correctly lighting occupants' faces and room walls without the need for additional luminaires.

For a warm, aesthetically pleasing effect, LED lamps are used for general lighting in the main area to highlight displays and add ambience. This LED's large globe was particularly suitable for the existing antique-style fitting.

Results and benefits

The new lighting installation will reduce Kalkari Discovery Centre’s annual energy costs by $874.76 and create a total carbon emission saving of 0.69 kg a year. Maintenance is expected to reduce from every 3000-9000 hours for the halogen and florescent solutions to every 25,000-50,000 hours (8.6-17 years) between the different LED solutions, significantly reducing the associated costs and inconvenience.

Overall, the lighting refurbishment is expected to deliver a lifetime net cost saving of $7489.42 and a payback time of just 3.2 years. There are other areas in the centre with a lighting refurbishment opportunity too. In terms of lighting controls presence/absence detectors could be installed to further increase energy savings.

“Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park is really going green, supporting its mission to protect the environment and establish an environmentally friendly reputation. This is just the first stage of the refurbishment project. There are further energy savings to be achieved in the theatre, in all service areas and in the rangers’ office. There are many similar facilities across Australia that could soon follow the example of Kalkari Discovery Centre,” said Kim Prodanov, NSW Project Lighting Consultant