Upgraded lighting with 0% free Carbon Trust Loan

Chalmor’s low energy lighting and heating expertise has enabled print specialist Newnorth Print to upgrade lighting and controls at its production centre in Kempston with the help of Resource Efficiency East, Bedfordshire Green Business Network and an interest free Carbon Trust Loan.

“The Carbon Trust Loan has enabled us to greatly improve the quality and responsiveness of our lighting, reduce our carbon footprint and save money at the same time,” explained Newnorth Director Mike Seamarks. “Furthermore, the 0% interest rate reduced the company’s capital outlay, so the whole scheme makes perfect commercial sense,” he added.

A total of 387 light fittings have been upgraded, Newnorth took a long term view and a number of fittings were replaced with new T5 light fittings. Suitable existing fittings were converted using Chalmor’s ReFit T5.

In addition, the new lighting is linked to Chalmor’s BlueWave lighting controllers, to ensure that the lighting is only used when needed. The result is a reduced electrical load and an annual energy saving of 183,169kWh. The combination of reduced energy and maintenance costs is providing Newnorth with a total annual saving of 99.8 tonnes of CO2.

As Newnorth has adopted the interest free Carbon Trust Loan scheme, the cost of the lighting, controls and installation has been spread over a period of 4 years. After the loan is repaid, Newnorth will benefit from annual savings of £13,000.

“We have been very pleased with the new lighting, which gives us a brighter light and makes the printing process much easier through better colour rendering – as well as helping us to save money. Newnorth is no stranger to carbon reduction and has used training, behavioral change and good housekeeping practices to consistently reduce energy, waste and water use over a period of years. We have also been smart in using a whole range of free support such as Carbon Trust Loans on offer to Small to Medium Sized Enterprises to improve profitability and gain new ideas for environmental improvements,” Mike Seamarks concluded.