East Durham Business magazine editor Leanne Fawcett chats to Harbro Electrical MD Phil Harbord about why now is the perfect time to review how energy efficient your company is, the importance of good LED lighting, and what advice he would give to businesses and home owners about their electrical equipment and energy output…
EDB. We are approaching the darker, colder nights so is now the right time to look at your energy and lighting needs?
- Yes, absolutely. Now is the time to look at what your company or home is using in terms of lighting and energy, before the autumn and winter seasons kick in.
As the days gets shorter and the dark nights draw in, we naturally rely more on lighting and heating, so now is the time to make sure what you’re using is an efficient as it can be.
At Harbro Electrical, we offer free energy audits to both businesses and homeowners. We are the experts and will tell you honestly whether you can make changes that will save you money.
EDB. What would you say to factories that rely on a lot of lighting to run their production lines?
- Factories rely on good quality lighting to be able to operate and we know LED lighting is the way forward. However, it has improved so much in recent years and there are now lots of different types of LED lighting, from different shades of white to different strengths of wattage.
So, while many factories may think they have LED lighting in place, and therefore they’re being energy efficient, the lighting they have installed may not actually be right for them.
For example factory floor strength of lighting differs from manufacturing to storage. Offices need their light to be the correct strength and no glare while corridors don’t have to be that bright.
Recently, we conducted an audit of a factory and by making some changes to the strength of the lighting they were using, we were able to save them a lot of money.
It really is worth reviewing now as from experience, there are probably three out of every five factories that are using the wrong lighting.
EDB. It’s not just lighting that can be the cause of unnecessarily high bills is it, sometimes businesses are using incorrect switches or wiring.
- Yes, that’s right. There are lots of different types of switches, including wireless, sensors, or photocell. The beauty of these is that when it comes to installation and decoration, the process of much simpler as you don’t need to factor in wires and plus everywhere, which, as well as being a hazard, just don’t look very good.
There are so many options for businesses to consider, but they’re not the experts in this area, we are.
So, I would encourage them to take advantage of the free audit. We will be honest with you, if we can suggest changes that will save you money, we will, and equally if your systems are adequate, we will say so.
EDB. It’s not just businesses that you can help is it, you can also help homeowners and tenants.
- Yes, absolutely. We are happy to provide audits to the residential market as well. It’s amazing the mistakes that we see when it comes to things like fans in bathrooms and en suites, LED lighting in kitchens or security cameras.
People spend thousands of pounds on having luxury bathroom suites or kitchens fitted but then buy cheap when it comes to the fan or lighting. They then discover that they’re not working properly, and we know that’s because the products themselves aren’t right for them. Our advice would always be, don’t buy cheap or you’ll buy twice. But the right product first time around – why spend all that money to have a lovely bathroom or kitchen but let it down by having a cheap fan that doesn’t work, or lighting that doesn’t provide the ambiance that you want.
EDB. You recently worked with a golf club and youth centre to improve their energy efficiency. Tell us more about that.
- We were asked to supply a local youth club, and a golf club, with new lighting, but the requirements were quite complex. They have cricket nets for the kids to use so you can imagine, the lighting needs to be to a certain level for player safety. Alongside the cricket nets, they also have five-a-side courts, so the lighting also needs to be sturdy, so it won’t break. We were able to change their lighting, so it was fit for purpose and saved the youth centre money as well.
I am a member at Castle Eden Golf Club, and they asked me to look at the heating for the new meeting room. Because it had a glass ceiling all the heat was escaping and it was cold, so what we did was install an inferred heating system that detects body heat. It is making such a difference, and the room is now properly heated.
EDB. So, if a business or individual needs your help, what they should do?
- Contact me. They can give the showroom a call on 0191 5181998 or drop me an email, philip@harbroelectrical.co.uk. I’ll then arrange to come out and see them.
