LED Street Lights Cut LCC Power Bill By 72%

by Dean Mance | Aug 2, 2016 | Our Projects, Reduce Your Power Bill

Case Study: Launceston City Council Installs First LED Street Lights

The Client
The Launceston City Council provides services to over 65,000 residents in the municipality. The future direction and focus of the council is guided by the Greater Launceston Plan.

The two key themes of the GLP are community needs and values, and recognising the importance of sustainability. As part of the comittment to deliver services in a responsible and sustainable manner the council has engaged the services of Jim Taylor as the City Of Launceston Sustainability Officer.

The Challenge
There are over 5,000 street lights in the Launceston area, which run from 8 to 14 hours a day, depending on the time of year. This generates a hefty power bill for the council and Jim has been investigating ways to reduce the cost of running these lights.

Any alternative must have low running costs and be as low maintenance as possible. Being pole top fittings there is a considerable cost and use of resources just to access a light fitting for repair. Also, the change from old to new light fittings should be as simple as possible.

The Solution
Jim decided to test the Sylvania StreetLED 22w LED street light fitting to replace the existing 80w mercury-vapour fittings.

Mance Electrical assisted by installing 6 of the new fittings to light poles in the car park at the bottom of Park Street, near the Tamar Yacht Club. These are the first LED street lights to be installed in the Launceston Municipality.

The Results
Installation of the lights was trouble free, due to the well designed mounting system. The light output of the new LEDs is clear and bright and compares favourably with the old mercury vapour lights.

Power consumption is a massive 72% less than the original fittings.

With over 5,000 street lights in Launceston the potential cost savings are substantial.

For advice on converting your existing lights to LED phone Mance Electrical on 6331 4711

Contact us for more information

The Dangers Of Halogen Downlights

by Dean Mance | Jan 16, 2016 | Uncategorized

Incorrectly Installed Downlights Are A Fire Hazard

Across Australia, hundreds of homes have been damaged or even completely destroyed by fire caused by old style halogen downlights.

There are millions of the lights still in use across the country and many of them are just a disaster waiting to happen.

The problem with these lights is the heat they generate during normal operation. The lamps can burn at over 300 degrees C which is plenty hot enough to start a fire in your ceiling.

Due to the potential problems there are strict regulations for installing these lights. But as so often happens in our industry these regulations are ignored to cut costs or just because the installer doesn’t know what they are doing.

The old style downlights must be installed at the correct distance from flammable building materials such as timber joists, and they must be protected to prevent them being covered by insulation.

We have seen plenty of cases where a wooden beam or ceiling truss has been partly cut away to allow the installation of a downlight fitting, and the timber black and charred as a result of the lamp being so close.

Downlights that are covered by insulation are particularly dangerous as the lamp heat is trapped and concentrated in the one area. Insulation installers generally don’t have a good reputation for dealing correctly with halogen downlights, and once again cost cutting is probably a major factor.

The insulation installer is on a fixed price and many of the workers have no training in the correct safety procedures.

Even where metal insulation rings are installed as required, we have seem pump-in insulation and batts totally covering lights and creating a dangerous fire hazard.

Even if the lights are installed correctly they can still be the cause of a fire. Birds, mice or rats nesting in your roof space can carry in grass and paper and other flammable materials and build their nest over your lights. Rats especially like nesting near downlights due to the warmth they generate.

It is possible to purchase fire guarded downlight fittings or guards that you can retrofit to an existing light, but these days they are not the best solution.

Replacing your old halogen downlights with new LED downlights is definitely the way to go.

LED downlights are now very reasonably priced, they use up to 80% less energy, run very cool in comparison and can be installed close to flammable materials and even covered by insulation in some cases.

Click Here to see our post on the advantages of LED downlights

If you have old halogen downlights in your home, you should consider replacing these potentially dangerous fittings, or at least get them checked to make sure you’re not about to have a serious problem to have a problem.

For advice and a free quotation on replacing your old halogen downlights phone Mance Electrical Launceston on 6331 4711

New LED Down Lights

by Dean Mance | Jan 15, 2016 | Common Repairs, Keep Your Family Safe, Reduce Your Power Bill

Getting Cheaper And Better All The Time

Cheaper To Run
Cheaper To Maintain
Safer To Operate
Easy To Install

LED down lights have greatly improved over the last year or so. There are many new brands on the market and prices have dropped by around 50%.

The new lights on offer are more compact, with the LED drivers built in to the light fitting instead of having a separate driver that plugs into the light. This makes them easier to install, especially in confined spaces.

Some new LED downlights can even be completely covered by insulation without causing overheating problems.

Overheating is a big safety issue with the old style down lights. The dichroic lamps burn at up to 300 degrees and there are restrictions on clearances to timber and flammable materials.

The safety regulations were often ignored and a large number of homes have been damaged by fire as a result.

Click Here to read our in-depth article on The Dangers Of Old Style Down Lights

LED down lights solve all the safety problems caused by old downlights as they run very cool in comparison.

LED down lights are also much cheaper to run and have much lower maintenance costs as well.

The quality of light output has improved dramatically, with fittings available from 8 watts to 15 watts, with a choice of warm white, neutral or cool white output, so it’s easy to find a suitable down light for your situation.

Many fittings are dimmable too, which gives you even more options. The only proviso is you must match the correct dimmer to your light fitting to ensure the best result and avoid flickering or a limited dimming range.

There is also a choice in style and colour of the fittings themselves. LED downlights are available in either white, brushed chrome or brass finish. The diffuser on the front face can be slightly recessed or flush with the trim ring

LED down lights are available in sizes that will directly replace the common sizes of old style downlights so swapping over to new fittings is usually a straight forward job.

Switching to LED lights will save you at least 80% on running costs. Depending on the amount you use the lights, the pay back time could be less than a year. The more you use the lights, the more money you will save.

Replace your old unsafe down lights with new LEDs. Save money and reduce the risk of fire in your home. Phone Mance Electrical on 6331 4711.

New LED Exit Lights Save Time And Money

by Dean Mance | Jul 19, 2015 | Common Repairs, Keep Your Family Safe, Reduce Your Power Bill, Save Money

Traditional exit lights with fluorescent tubes require a lot of maintenance to ensure they will operate correctly in an emergency.

With the new range of LED exit lights now available it’s usually cheaper to replace a faulty older exit light than it is to repair it.

LED exit lights have many advantages over the older style lights. They require much less maintenance, are cheaper to purchase, have more reliable batteries and chargers and use much less power.

Power consumption is an important consideration as many exit lights are required to run 24 hours a day. There are big savings to be made on running costs alone. The cost savings from lower maintenance requirements are on-going for the life of the fitting, which is considerably longer than for a fluorescent style exit light.

Each new lights come with a range of “running man” style graphics all in the one box. There is no need to purchase a specific left or right arrow diffuser for each location. The one fitting can be adapted to suit all situations.

If your commercial property has exit lights they are required to be checked every six months, with a log book on site to record the testing date and any repairs carried out.

For all exit and emergency light installation, testing, repair and replacement in Launceston and surrounding areas, phone Mance Electrical on 6331 4711

Lighting Up Launceston

by Dean Mance | Jul 31, 2013 | Our Projects, Reduce Your Power Bill, Save Money

A recent project for Mance Electrical was the installation of new poles and wall mounted lights in the Quadrant Mall for the Launceston City Council. (scroll down for more…)

The lights are modern but styled to look like old gas lanterns.

New submersible LED lights were also installed in the fountain and the whole area now looks very bright and inviting. A potential increase in public safety and a definite decrease in the council’s power bill.

Wander down and have look, and don’t forget to hit the like button, if you do like the new lights.