PC Cox, the world's largest manufacturer of hand-held sealant applicators, has achieved a 45 per cent reduction in the annual energy consumption of its lighting at its 46,500 sq ft Newbury-based headquarters. The project also improved the quality of light, benefitting the working environment for the 170 employees working at the site. PC Cox has achieved this by implementing a new energy efficiency project designed and implemented by Vita Energia, a specialist in minimising energy usage in existing lighting systems. The project was financed by the Carbon Trust.
As part of PC Cox’s proactive work on reducing carbon emissions, the lighting system was identified as holding great potential for lowering energy usage and minimising the impact on the environment. Experts from Vita Energia conducted a site survey and found that by retrofitting the existing lighting system with revolutionary energy efficiency technologies, PC Cox could reduce its carbon emissions by 50 tonnes of CO2 per year.
The old T8 and T12 light fittings were converted into the new, more environmentally friendly T5 fittings using Vita Energia’s British designed and manufactured reflectors and conversion kits.
To finance the retrofit, PC Cox secured a £26,000 interest free loan from the Carbon Trust, helping the project to provide a return on investment (ROI) in just over two years. With the Carbon Trust loan, the company had no initial pay-out and no interest charges. The results of the investment and the lower energy bills are already showing on the bottom line.
Fred Lumb, managing director at PC Cox, says: “It’s a challenge to find good projects that cut our carbon footprint. This one fitted the bill and the 45 per cent energy saving gives us a good return on investment. There was virtually no down-time while the new system was being installed because Vita Energia’s engineers planned around our production hours, working at night when no one was there.”
Steve Mitchell, health and safety and environmental advisor at PC Cox, says: “Our employees are very impressed with the new lighting system, which has improved the entire working environment. The implementation process was incredibly smooth and the entire project was completed in only one month.”
Duncan Stevens, director at Vita Energia, says: “Lighting can account for a substantial part of a company’s electricity budget. In fact it can make up 30 per cent of a company’s operations costs. However, it is one of the easiest places to achieve significant energy savings with a fast payback. Also, as was proven in this case, the quality of light can be improved considerably to the benefit of the people working on site.”
