protecting our planet
October/November june/july 2019 2021 business edge
Saving Energy, Watt’s stopping you? We all know the impact the pandemic has had on businesses, this has given some businesses the opportunity to look at how they can improve the office or working environment when we are allowed to re-open. Switching to LED lighting is a quick and relativity inexpensive way to do this, with large energy gains and saving to be achieved, as switching to low energy LED light can typically save between 60 and 70% when compared to traditional fluorescent tubes and given the long working life of between 15 and 20 years, a huge reduction in maintenance costs. Some of the latest industrial lighting has a working life of 100,000 hours or more than 30 years and are supplied with a 7-10 warranty. These are numerous other benefits and options to consider as well when looking to upgrade your lighting, I have listed the below the main things to include when installing LED lights. 1, Colour temperature, correct levels of lighting for the office. 2, No Flicker driver, 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 and recyclable, produce less carbon and contain no harmful metals. 6, Generate less heat, lowering the temperature of the office and reducing the dependency on the air conditioning.
I have heard that there are some grants available, can I qualify? You will be advised and guided throughout by LED-UK, who can even submit the application on your behalf (you will need to sign the application form!). The grants available in the local area is LoCase, the amount of the grant can be up to 40% of the project cost, (minimum project cost is £2,000 and the maximum is £20,000). The LoCase grants currently cover East and West Sussex, Kent, parts of South Essex, parts of Hampshire, and parts of Surrey.
Stephen Marshall Director, LED-UK Lighting Ltd 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. Visit The East Sussex Commercial LED Lighting specialists - LED UK (led-uk.co.uk) for further information.
Demand drivers for community wastewater treatment systems Severn Trent Connect, an Ofwat regulated wastewater company, can provide purpose-built community-scale wastewater systems. subject to statutory objections to planning consents on the basis that developments will result in additional pollution to the water environment. Avoiding a statutory objection requires developers to engineer “nutrient neutral” developments; a major barrier to achieving neutrality is effectively managing wastewater discharges.
The demand for new decentralised, community-scale wastewater systems is likely to rise over the coming years; a trend already seen in parts of Sussex and the Southeast. This trend is being driven as incumbent water companies aren’t able to keep up with demand for providing new sewerage connections. As a result, statutory sewerage and sewage disposal services are causing significant delays in the delivery of the nation’s new housing and commercial space. Locally available wastewater treatment capacity is often insufficient to meet the demand from large developments. Where the shortfall in capacity is large enough that a strategic capital scheme is required (sewerage networks and/or sewage treatment assets), the timeline for an incumbent-delivered solution can be five or more years due to the sector’s funding cycle. Developers are buying land in increasingly remote locations, where the distance to
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William Mackveley, General Manager of Wastewater Solutions & Onsite Treatment Works, Severn Trent Connect connecting into existing networks can be prohibitively expensive as laying mains sewers can cost more than £1million/km. Statutory objections from developmentcaused nutrient pollution are increasing the need for local high-performance treatment systems. Some catchments in England are
www.sussexchamberofcommerce.co.uk
Purpose-built community-scale wastewater systems offer a viable means for reducing the delays associated with wastewater utilities. Building these systems from scratch presents an opportunity to holistically manage a development’s nutrient footprint; helping developers and planning authorities select the optimum solution by balancing nature-based solutions and more conventional treatment systems. While we at ST Connect hope that nature-based solutions will in general be favoured, we’re here to support developers, planners, and local authorities when technical treatment systems are also needed.
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