Are tubular daylighting devices one of the answers to government’s UK Carbon Transition Plan?
In a recent speech to the commons announcing the planned building of four new coal-fired power stations, Ed Miliband, the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, commented to the effect that ‘we cannot just turn the lights out on Great Britain’.
His point was simple. There is a growing demand for power across all aspects of society and the economy. So what are the government to do? If they are to maintain the flow of electricity to our homes, offices and factories, a demand that is growing daily, then we need more capacity to generate this power whilst at the same time, striving to reduce the associated CO2 emissions that this will cause.
But is he wrong? Could we turn the lights out on Great Britain? Well to a large extent the answer is actually yes.
Intelligent building and refurbishment programmes, incorporating modern tubular daylighting devices (TDDs) such as Solatube Daylighting Systems, could dramatically reduce the daytime power usage of the UK.
Take a typical logistics centre. Often, it will be a single story, metal-clad construction with no windows and rows of sodium or metal-halide lighting.
This lighting would typically account for around 70-80% of the total power requirement for the building. If the lights can be turned off during daylight hours, the reduction in emissions and corresponding costs savings would be considerable.
The warehouse application (left) noticed an immediate site-wide electricity reduction after the retrofitting of Solatube Daylighting Systems. The Facilities Manager also reported that the employees responded positively to working under natural light.
Another example would be schools. Typically single story, occupied mainly during the day and probably running electric lighting all day long. Lit with Solatube Daylighting Systems, the average school could expect to reduce its total consumption by around 40%.
Offices are yet another prime example where significant energy savings can be made by the introduction of TDDs. In a typical office, lighting is the largest energy cost at around 40%.
If, as a nation, we are to meet our collective obligations for the reduction of CO2 emissions, more architects, designers and developers need to embrace this proven technology.
We believe time is now well over due for all of the parties concerned in the building process to ensure that if a space can be lit feasibly without electric lighting then it should be. It should be as acceptable to include TDDs in a specification, as it would be to include the windows!
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November 2009Solatube® Daylighting System selected
for Bath University eco house project
October 2009Solatube Daylighting Systems meet the green roof challenge!
Solatube Daylighting Systems flood the Environment Agency – with daylight!
August 2009
Are tubular daylighting devices an answer to government’s UK Carbon Transition Plan?
July 2009Hyde Group's 'Retrofit and Replicate' eco project selects Solatube Daylighting Systems
June 2009Otter Brewery brings daylight into the heart of its state-of the-art brewing facility
Solatube Daylighting Systems can save you up to 70% of a building's energy consumption
March 2009BRE tests prove flexible light pipes are no match for Solatube rigid tube systems
Solatube Daylighting Systems gain BBA Certification
BRE Test compares Solatube 330 DS with Monodraught SunPipe
Did you know that tube reflectivity plays a critical role in achieving the best performance?
Solatube Daylighting Systems bring a range of benefits to BP and Marks & Spencer Simply Food
Solatube Daylighting Systems deliver
gold medal performance at the Beijing Olympics
