DW Windsor has returned to Bluewater shopping centre to upgrade its outdoor lighting to LED and cut energy usage.
Bluewater opened its doors in March 1999. Rising from a former chalk quarry among 50-metre-high cliffs, it attracts over a million visitors annually.
DW Windsor designed, manufactured and installed the original car park, road and service yard lighting, working with architects Speirs & Major to develop a bespoke luminaire specifically for the retail destination – with a wide brim and blue diffused illuminated canopy. Nineteen years later, while the installation had weathered well, the evolution in lighting technologies had created opportunities for energy savings.
The key requirements for the project were:
• Reduce energy
• Provide uniformity and colour temperature to meet the original lighting requirements
• Low maintenance.
During the project lifetime, the original metal halide light sources were updated to a more efficient lamp type. This reduced power consumption and energy bills, however, it also resulted in a change in colour temperature, effecting the overall ambience.
To meet the original scheme lighting requirements, DW Windsor recommended retrofitting the original lanterns with a 4,000K LED solution across the site with a pre-programmed factory-set dimming regime, to save on CMS costs.
Simon Groat, DW Windsor national sales manager, commented, “It was exciting to work on such a well-known retail location and one that we had previously lit. The project delivers significant energy savings compared to the existing lamp types and with a payback period of less than four years, shareholders were very happy.”
DW Windsor will also be restoring the columns, brackets and luminaires to their original appearance. Paint will be matched to the original colour, with a 25-year guarantee of colour stability and gloss level retention.
The lighting upgrade programme will be completed over a three-month period, saving Bluewater 650,000kWh annually, which amounts to a 75% reduction in energy usage. In addition to this, the LED solution is maintenance free for a minimum of 20 years.
