Total Lighting - March 2016

a
numbers
game
The UK Energy Efficiency
Trends report ... unravelled
A
surge in the number of energy
efficiency projects commissioned
has been reported in the latest
UK Energy Efficiency Trends (EET)
survey report, published by EEVS and
Bloomberg New Energy Finance.
More than 80 per cent of those
responding to the EET survey confirmed
they had authorised new programmes in the
third quarter of 2015 - the highest proportion
of new projects recorded in a single quarter
since the survey began in 2012.
Of the technologies being used, lighting
continues to out-perform all others. The
specification and use of lighting controls
also grew, with a noticeable increase
during quarter three.
TL asked Sam Stageman, sales director
at Minimise Energy, why lighting and
controls are topping the list of energy
efficient technologies, and by some
margin. He said: ‘Organisations recognise
that swapping to an energy efficient
lighting solution will deliver greater and
quicker savings than many of the other
technologies listed by respondents.
‘In our experience, savings are as much
as 50 per cent -sometimes more - with
typical payback periods of between two
and five years.
‘It’s also important to note that, in many
buildings, lighting is one of the largest
energy draws, sometimes consuming up
to 40 per cent of energy used, so making
savings here is always going to
be attractive.’
The survey showed that the capital
cost profile of energy efficiency projects
remained volatile. The period saw a strong
volume of small scale (up to £50,000) and
large (above £500,000) projects, but the
core mid-range has fallen, and accounts
for only one in five projects.
Although performing well, energy
efficient lighting uptake hasn’t reached
60 per cent yet, so what can be done to
improve the figures, and encourage more
projects in 2016?
Stageman commented: ‘In the last
six months, we’ve seen a significant
increase in the number of lighting projects
approved. We anticipate that this will be
reflected in figures for quarter four of 2015,
and the first quarter of 2016.
‘We are also finding that we no
longer have to promote LED as a viable
technology solution, as clients are actively
seeking to make the switch. Instead they
need to be directed to the right
LED solution.’
Financing arrangements remained
stable, but a trend that emerged
throughout 2015 has been the use of
combination funding (a mix of in-house
and external finance). Financial payback
periods returned to the long-term trend of
between three and four years, driven by
a growth in longer five- to 10-year
payback projects.
Stageman reflected: ‘In the short
term (Q4 results), it could be that the
proportion of respondents investing in
lighting projects dips slightly, as many
have rushed to complete solar projects
in time to qualify for better Feed-in Tariffs,
but beyond that, we are aware that
cap-ex budgets are increasingly being
set aside to fund energy efficient lighting
programmes. Good payback periods and
energy consumption data are making it
easy to put together appealing business
cases to support budget commitments.’
Energy efficiency suppliers reporting
rising national orders dropped to an
all-time low in quarter three, while
overseas orders picked up for 28 per
cent of respondents. Supplier demand
however, remained the biggest single
sectoral concern at 31 per cent. When
combined, 35 per cent of suppliers were
concerned about Government impacts
on performance, which was split between
16 • MARCH 2016 • www.total-lighting.com