green sustainability

Light Years Ahead

Phil Cottrell, Managing Director of building systems specialists GCL, discusses how the combination of smart lighting and building energy management systems, conserve energy and the environment.

Over the last few decades there has been rapid growth in energy consumption in the public sector and commercial buildings, due to the ever-increasing demands of technology. According to EON ‘five sectors – offices, retail, industrial, health and hospitality – accounted for 71% of total energy consumption’

Smart LED Lighting Systems

Today LED lighting is recognised as being a super-efficient way of saving energy and associated costs; however, when looking at installing new lighting systems, several factors need to be considered. LED lighting fixtures have been commoditised using cheap imports from China. More affordable fittings often come with exaggerated claims about how long they will last. The advantages of a smart lighting installation are immense and GCL are experts when it comes to smart LED lighting systems as an accredited partner to the manufacturer of the most advanced systems in the world.

What do Smart LED Lighting Systems have to offer?

Smart lighting systems use sensor technology and data analytics which deliver solutions for energy savings, space utilisation analysis and optimisation, asset and employee/visitor locating, lighting control to increase employee productivity, and more. Third-party applications such as conference room management, hot desking reservation, and heating, ventilation, air conditioning (HVAC) systems are all made intelligent with realtime data and status of spaces capture. By having a smart lighting system installed, you will also potentially be able to take advantage of new technologies such as https://lifi.co/ which will revolutionise the way we communicate in the future.

Better Control and Much Healthier Light

Installing intelligent lighting controls will ensure you are not using any more energy than you need to. Detection systems which sense movement and natural light can replace your conventional switches, ensuring lights are turned off automatically in unoccupied spaces, reducing your lighting expenditure. Cambridge University research has shown that If you ensure that 10 lights around your workspace are switched off every night, each year you could:

Save as much CO2 as would be produced by 50 car journeys from Cambridge to London.

Reduce your carbon footprint by the same amount as cutting out 25 flights from London to Paris.

A smart lighting system will:

Significantly reduce energy usage

Drastically improve LED driver lifespan (the driver is an electrical circuit used to power a LED).

Provide huge maintenance costs savings

Maintain optimum lighting levels

Data Comms Cable and Smart Lighting Cable as one installation

GCL’s technicians can install the cabling for the lighting system at the same time as the cabling for voice, data, security, and audio visual (AV), everything runs on the same standard, low voltage structured cabling system. There is no need for electrical distribution boards or separate conduits for lighting unlike 230Vac cabling, thereby saving on installation costs.

Building Energy Management System (BEMS)

A building energy management system (BEMS) is a computer-based approach to measuring, monitoring and managing the performance of building services, such as heating, ventilation, air-conditioning, lighting and security. By reducing the air conditioning by as little as 1 degree Celsius could reduce your annual energy bill by up to 8%

Benefits of BEMS:

Coordinate the operation of various systems

Complete control over your building environment

Closely monitor building energy efficiency

Reduce energy consumption

Can be integrated with smart lighting systems

Your building’s Facilities Manager can use these systems to monitor building energy usage. GCL provide you with a coherent system which can be accessed from PC’s, laptops and hand-held devices. This will give you quick access to building information in the form of graphs, charts and reports, allowing you to make informed energy saving decisions. BEM systems can also be controlled by lighting system software which provides new levels of building intelligence. Such as space utilisation analysis and optimisation i.e., how often are desks being occupied during the day, asset and employee/visitor locating which means we can better understand how buildings are being used, meeting room occupation and lighting control.

Smart lighting and building energy management systems reduce your energy and operating costs and help you meet your environmental obligations. Call GCL to see how you can conserve energy and the environment today.

t: 020 3906 6070 e: hello@gcl.uk.com w: https://gcl.uk.com/

Saving Energy, Watt’s Stopping You?

We all know the impact the pandemic has had on businesses. Some businesses have taken this time as an opportunity to look at how they can improve the office or working environment when we do re-open.

Switching to LED lighting is a quick and relativity inexpensive way to positively uplift your environment, whilst also producing large energy gains and savings. Changing over to low energy LED lights can typically save between 60 and 70% when compared to traditional fluorescent tubes.

Given the long working life of Led lights is between 15 and 20 years, this is a huge reduction in maintenance costs. Some of the latest industrial LED lighting has a working life of 100,000 hours or more than 30 years and are supplied with a 7–10 year warranty.

These are numerous benefits, plus options to consider when upgrading your lighting.

1 Colour temperature – use the correct levels of lighting for the office.

2 No Flicker driver – this can help improve the overall wellbeing by reducing stress and anxiety, increasing productivity and profitability. 3 Daylight dimming - this reduces the output of the luminaires when natural light levels increase, further enhancing the energy savings.

4 Sensor controls, PIR or microwave installed in toilets, kitchens, and corridors; if the lights are off, they are saving you energy and money.

5 Greener, recyclable product less carbon with no harmful metals.

6 Generate less heat, lowering the temperature of the office and reducing the dependency on air conditioning.

If we are to reach Carbon Neutral, it is businesses that need to make the greatest changes in how they operate and invest in energy saving measures and products. As a Director of a LED Lighting company, I am passionate on this subject and I am happy to offer free advice to any business interested in cutting their energy costs, as well as their carbon emissions.

Visit The East Sussex Commercial LED Lighting specialists - LED UK (led-uk.co.uk) for further information.

Importance of training and development

If you were the manager of a Premier League football team how would you respond if one of your team asked you “why do we go out training every day?” You might say to improve individual performance; practice skills; build fitness; work on team dynamics or prepare for important games and situations. You would probably consider the question ridiculous because everyone knows sports teams need coaching to operate at the highest levels to remain competitive for the supporters, team and themselves.

So why is it, that if you Google “why is training and development important?” there is a raft of articles explaining what we all already know. Why is it that companies continue to see employee, team and organisational development as a cost and not an investment? Is this a question you ask yourself as a business leader?

In business it can feel like we are playing an endless game and now in the midst of a pandemic and instability, you might wonder what game you are even in. Businesses are being asked to constantly perform and leaving employees feeling exhausted.

We are constantly trying to prove our worth and get picked for the next important project or promotion. Do you know your purpose?

Performance is stressful. We are brilliantly designed to deal with the stress of performing for short bursts but woefully illequipped to be constantly “on”. How do we manage in this climate right now?

Here at True Reflection Coaching we’d like to challenge you:

What support do you require to further your own development?

How do you implement selfcare to achieve your goals?

What changes are required to implement the next stage of your journey?

Do you feel stuck in a role or environment that does not support you? Would you like to meet similar people and start a new network of change?

Challenging yourself to continue to learn is at the heart of your journey. Can you imagine staying in the same role, same environment, locked in the same format? Lock down will lift, will you be ready for your challenge, your new way of working and how will you manage change to get the best possible for your people.

Paul Adams, Co-founder & Coach, right, and Clare Sandman, Co-founder, Well-being specialist and counsellor, True Reflection Coaching

Contact us to take a step forward at Email: info@truereflectionpartnership.co.uk

TRANSFORM EAST SUSSEX New FREE Skills Support Service for East Sussex SMEs

Are you looking to TRANSFORM your workforce? Does your business need help with workforce skills and training, but not sure where to start? We can help!

Small and medium sized enterprises across East Sussex are now able to access support for apprenticeship and skills training following a successful funding application to the European Social Fund and a match funding pledge by East Sussex County Council.

Transform is a FREE workforce skills information and brokerage service that offers East Sussex businesses impartial information and supported access to workforce training. Transform can also help you apply for incentives and funding that could cover the full cost of your apprenticeship and skills training.

Email our team of impartial Transform Skills Advisors today; we can offer step by step guidance, keeping things simple, and making your life easier.

Apprenticeships: did you know?

Employers who hire a new apprentice between 1 April 2021 and 30 September 2021 will receive £3,000 per new apprentice; an additional payment of £1000 is also paid for some younger apprentices.

Apprenticeships can be used to upskill and/or retrain employees of any age, including older workers or existing staff.

With over 500 different apprenticeship job roles to choose from, apprenticeships are a flexible skills solution that can be tailored to your business.

Off-the-job training can be delivered in a way and place that suits you and the provider; it does not always have to involve one day a week in a classroom.

Hiring an apprentice is an exciting way to grow talent and develop a motivated, skilled and qualified workforce. 86% of employers said apprenticeships helped them develop the new skills they need, and around three quarters of employers said that apprenticeships helped improve productivity and improve the quality of their product or service.

Our aim is to help SME employers in East Sussex through increasing their take up and knowledge of apprenticeships, traineeships and wider skills training. If your business is an SME in East Sussex and would like support from Transform, please contact transform@sctp.org.uk and for more information visit

www.sctp.org.uk/transform-programme

TRANSFORM has been part funded by the European Social Fund 2014-20. It is a partnership between East Sussex County Council and Sussex Council of Training Providers.