The Met Office outlook for 2025 predicts we're facing one of the three warmest years ever recorded as far as the world's average temperature goes. 2023 broke records at 1.45°C above the all-important 1.5C over pre-industrial levels, and 2024 almost certainly went over the 1.5°C limit for the first time, a record nobody wanted to see beaten. And we all need to do our bit. In 2024 Labour said it wants to make electricity 100% clean by 2030. The Labour government's Great British Energy initiative involves creating a UK-owned energy company to invest in next-generation renewables, reducing the country's CO2 emissions as well as cutting the cost of energy. Jürgen Maier, dedicated to clean tech and the former UK CEO of Siemens, will lead GBE with initial funding of £8.3 billion. It's also good to know there's almost £5 billion of funding available to help businesses in the UK go greener. These green energy grants for business can be used in a variety of ways from installing LED lighting, solar PV systems and insulation to fitting more efficient heating systems. There's the RLS or Recovery Loan Scheme, the IETF or Industrial Energy Transformation Fund, Business Rates Support for Green Technology, the SEG or Smart Export Guarantee, plus Local Council Grants for Energy Efficiency and more. All of which might be able to help your company go greener, save money on energy, and even generate money from being greener. Let's take a look. Funding to go greener – Government, councils and more OFGEM suggests some handy business energy efficiency grants and schemes. The National Energy Foundation's YouGen website is full of excellent advice about efficient energy use and renewable energy sources. The Energy Savings Trust contains useful case studies to inspire you, also looking into energy efficiency resources. They hold events to talk about their recommendations and provide advice about energy efficient supply chains, so you may want to keep your eyes open for an event near you. And the smallbusiness.co.uk website provides great advice for everyone from SMEs and MSMEs to start-ups. Various government business energy schemes, loans, grants and subsidisation can help smaller businesses cut their impact with energy efficiency, revised processes, investing in green equipment, managing waste better, and planning ongoing sustainable development. Your local council might prove an excellent source of advice and funding, as do various kinds of independent green energy-focused business innovation funds. With luck and a fair wind behind you, you may be able to use the Smart Export Guarantee scheme to earn money from generating your own renewable power. You can check GOV.UK’s Energy Technology List for insight into the greenest plant equipment, delving deep into the latest and most efficient boilers, lighting, air conditioning and refrigeration tech. And there are plenty of different finance schemes provided by charities, specialist energy agencies and energy suppliers themselves. The Clean Heat Grant, for example, provides funds for businesses to adopt green heating tech like heat pumps and biomass, and the Green Gas Support Scheme funds biomethane to boost green gas use in the national grid. Your own business energy supplier might have schemes you can tap into. And price comparison website Compare the Market compares business energy quotes from a range of suppliers to help businesses spend less on the energy they use. Cut your usage, cut the cost and you can make substantial savings as well as helping battle runaway climate change. Combine all this potential support with contemporary low-energy, high efficiency heating, cooling and lighting technologies and there's significant potential for your business to hit its own emissions targets and contribute to the nation achieving Net Zero. Green energy delivers a competitive advantage Consumers are well aware of the issues around CO2 and climate change, which means going as green as you can – and talking about it – can provide an important competitive edge, in the same way that businesses with a strong and positive focus on Environment and Social Governance are beginning to attract savvy customers and consumers. Creating a business-beneficial virtuous circle Add all this together and you get a virtuous circle that can only benefit your business's future. So can we help you with the latest, greatest low energy heating, cooling and lighting? We're always happy to talk turkey with businesses wanting to reduce their CO2 footprint or aim for CO2 neutrality. Together, we can make it happen!
It's that time of year again, when we round up the last twelve months and begin to look forward to the new year ahead. So what stands out from 2024 in our world, and what's on the horizon? LED lighting is becoming the norm According to AMA Research , by 2028 the overall UK lighting market will be worth around £2.3 billion, an annual Compound Growth Rate of 2.8% compared to the estimated market size this year. Apparently lighting currently accounts for an estimated 12% of annual UK electricity consumption. Thanks to the widespread use of LED light and the smart connected systems they help enable, that might drop 'significantly' to around 8%, driving big energy savings and lowering the nation's CO2 emissions. The construction industry is an important driver for lighting products because they build new buildings and retrofit existing buildings. LED lighting is estimated to account for 72% of all UK lighting products and systems bought through 2024. Government legislation around greener, cleaner energy and lower emissions is forecast to increase the number to around 85% by the year 2030. In the meantime it looks like demand for LED lighting will keep on growing and will also become even more competitive as more manufacturers join the LED revolution, the tech matures and performance carries on improving. LED lighting products will become more affordable for domestic, commercial and industrial settings, and the market will carry on evolving. We can help you stay cool, create the light levels you need, and save money on electricity with our brilliant LED lighting units, with a variety of excellent-value LED lighting models designed for specific circumstances. Smart electric heating is making an impact Checkatrade says electric heating systems are growing in popularity with UK homeowners. Again it's no surprise thanks to the shocking rise in energy prices the country has been suffering for some years and the clear need to emit less greenhouse gases at home and at work. Increasing solar panel adoption is also helping drive greater take-up of electric heating systems since solar tech provides the energy to run today's clean, greener all-electric heating. If you'd like to take advantage of an incredibly controllable heating system so efficient you'll immediately notice the effect on your bills and comfort levels, we'll be delighted to discuss the many exciting, stylish options with you, whether it's for business or your home. The word about evaporative cooling spreads Funds Magazine says evaporative cooling is enjoying a boom because of the fast-growing, fast-developing trend for smart homes and smart commercial buildings, a major driver for the smart cooling system market. Domestic, commercial and industrial settings are increasingly adopting smart cooling solutions, which themselves are being designed to integrate with other smart devices and systems to deliver even more efficient energy management. Because the world's governments are busy bringing in suites of new regulations and incentives to create better energy efficiency and slash greenhouse gas emissions, the adoption of smart cooling systems is also set to increase over the foreseeable future. Inkwood Research predicts the UK's evaporative cooler market will grow 4.57% by 2032, currently seeing a surge because of booming demand for cost-effective cooling in a warming climate. The desire to be as sustainable as possible in business premises and at home is pushing demand higher for this efficient, economical cooling tech. These systems not only cool things down, they also improve air quality and slash the environmental impact of staying comfortable compared to traditional air conditioning units, which eat up large amounts of energy. In commercial settings evaporative cooling tech plays an increasingly important role in maintaining low-cost comfort in offices and shops, hotels, factories and every other setting where cutting down operational costs and reducing environmental impacts matters. Would you like to explore the fascinating subject of evaporative cooling for your premises? Again, we're always happy to pitch in with sensible expert advice without the hard sell. Here's to a fantastic new year to all of our current customers - and to those of you who'll be coming our way throughout 2025. Together we can make energy work harder.
Sometimes you need bright, clean light at an extra-wide angle to illuminate a particular area or context. Our ultra-wide angle CT-B300 LED bulkhead lights are an excellent solution. Here's what you need to know about this particularly well-designed, ruggedly made and thoroughly-tested bulkhead lighting. What are our LED bulkhead lights designed to do? The lights' ultra-wide angle illumination of 150 degrees provides a large area of bright, widely-scattered light. This LED lighting style is perfect for anything from the railway tunnels you find along ex-railway line walking trails to wine cellars and underground mining contexts, also popular for industrial applications and great for creating ambient lighting over facilities like conveyor belts. You can fit them to the ceiling, suspend them below the ceiling, or mount them on walls. CE and RoHS LED bulkhead lighting The lights carry the CE mark, which means the tech complies with high EU safety, health and environmental requirements. It proves the manufacturer has checked that the lights meet EU standards, indicates they comply with EU legislation, and allows the products to be sold to the European market. Having been carefully RoHS tested, they're also fully RoHS compliant. RoHS stands for 'Restriction of Hazardous Substances' also called Directive 2002/95/EC, an EU standard that restricts the use of ten hazardous materials in electrical and electronic products: cadmium, lead, mercury, Hexavalent Chromium, Polybrominated Biphenyls, Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers, Bis(2-Ethylhexyl) phthalate, Benzyl butyl phthalate , Dibutyl phthalate and Diisobutyl phthalate. They're all very bad for the environment, pollute landfill sites, and are highly dangerous for people working in the places products containing them are made and recycled. IP66 and IK10 ratings make it a particularly tough customer. As IP66 rated lights, they've been tested and found to meet Ingress Protection level 6 for solids and liquids, delivering totally dust-free protection against solids and great protection against splashes, drips, high-pressure hoses and even temporary floods. In fact this is the highest standard of level of waterproof protection, suitable for outdoor use. The lights' IK10 rating means they come with the highest level of impact resistance for light fixtures. They can handle an impact of 20 joules, equivalent to a 5 kilo weight being dropped from a height of 40cm. A choice of two wattages Choose from 30w or 50w models, each with the same impressive spec: • Lamp luminous flux 150LM/W plus or minus 5% • CRI Ra>70 • CCT 2700 - 6500 • Rated Voltage AC 100-240V 227V~,50/60Hz • Power Factor >0.95 • Operating temperature: Minus forty degrees Centigrade to approximately 60C You can click here for an explanation of what these mean. (link to article from 4th Nov 'LED Floodlight T300A – Multi-purpose, rugged, brilliantly bright'). An even G5 light distribution curve Light distribution curves specify the direction and intensity of a light. A type G5 light fixture like this provides an even, circular light distribution that makes it perfect for large, open areas where you need uniform illumination. Testing, testing, 123! The units have been expertly tested to prove their worth. Salt Spray Testing proves the lights come with very good resistance to corrosion. They've passed the High-Low Temperature Test at extreme temperatures of <-40°C to >60°C, and UV ageing testing for discolouration found no impact on performance over an impressive 720 hours or so. A Vibration Test proved the lamps' system is robust, and Withstand Voltage Testing showed the lamps handle the voltages they're designed for while avoiding surges and short circuiting, ideal for safety. All this at an impressively low running cost Because LEDs use so little electricity, these lights cost very little to run compared to non-LED alternatives. They run cool too, not heating up like ordinary bulbs. Would you like to talk things through with an expert? We can talk LED lights all day long. Feel free to get in touch to discuss the potential or get answers to your questions. PS. We'd like to wish our customers a happy, peaceful Christmas and a profitable 2025.
In this article about specialist LED lighting, we take a deep-dive into our popular Halo-F series of LED highbay food processing lights, which are also perfect for the pharmaceutical sector, wineries, supermarkets and many other dust-free plant settings. Why food processing and pharma settings need bright light Food-safe lighting is vital for every food related business, keeping products and employees safe as well as helping maintain high hygiene standards. Food, pharma and similar facilities often have very specific lighting constraints and demands, with lighting meeting demanding criteria and stringent standards, often in highly-controlled critical environments. If, as is more likely in a climate change world, temperatures change dramatically to reach new highs and lows, the lighting must be able to cope without affecting production or standards. It's good to know that the Halo-F series does all of this in an efficient, cool, low-energy way with LEDs at its heart. LED Food processing Light specification The Halo-F series comes with a choice of wattage to suit a huge variety of situations and contexts: 50W, 80W, 100W, 150W, 200W, plus the brightest of all, the super-bright 240W model. The driver comes from MEAN WELL, a highly respected supplier dedicated to standard power supply products. They have strong positive partnerships with around 250 authorised distributors globally and their excellent products are widely used in industrial control, medical and other situations. The light source is provided by LUMILEDS, makers of the great quality LUXEON LEDs used for a variety of applications and known for their high performance, reliability and flexibility. And the lamps' Luminous Flux, at 160LM/W±5%, gives you a really good perceived power of light. Your CRI or Colour Rendering Index is RA>70/80, which means you get an accurate representation of the real-life colour of the objects being lit. And with a CCT or Correlated Colour Temperature of 2700-6500K there's a wide spectrum of warm to cool light choices, from a cosy-feeling low level to illumination that's bright, white, and very like daylight. Your RATED VOLTAGE is AC 100-240 277V~,50/60HZ and the POWER FACTOR is >0.95. And there's even a choice of light distribution, with beam angles of 60°/90°/120°. Ideal for places where water and steam are a risk to equipment, the IP GRADE of IP69K means the units are both high pressure water resistant and steam resistant. Because they operate perfectly well within an enormous temperature range, from -40℃~55℃, they do what they're supposed to do however hot or cold the setting is or becomes. Because of the sensitivity of the sectors using lights like this, which tend to come with unusually strict requirements, these LED lamps are made using biocompatible materials for high levels of hygiene and safety. And there's even more choice around the way they're fitted. Choose from either a ceiling installation, which sits close to the ceiling, or suspension installation, which hangs below the ceiling to be placed at the exact height you require it. A strict LED food processing light testing regime A Salt Spray Test explores the heat sink processed by oxidization and powder spraying, revealing really good resistance to corrosion. A High-Low Temperature Test over two hours at a temperature of <-40°C saw the lamps working perfectly, and testing for four hours at a temperature of >60°C gave equally impressive results. A UV Ageing Test looked for discolouration over 720 hours or so and found no impact on the lamp's performance, with no effect on the lamp's appearance or the PC lens either. A Vibration Test simulated various vibration conditions and proved the lamps' system is good and robust. Withstand Voltage Testing showed the lamps handle the specified voltages while avoiding surges and short circuiting, dealing with potential operation errors and faults with ease. And Temperature Rise Testing proves the units are man enough to handle hikes in temperature that could cause breakdowns and accidents in lesser products. And last but not least, because LEDs use so little electricity they costs very little to run compared to regular lighting. Contact us for answers to your Halo-F series LED light questions You'll find the full details about the Halo-F range here . If you have any questions about any aspect of them, we'll be pleased to help.
LED lighting terms explained
Want to light up your business? Maybe you want to illuminate a sports field or a warehouse, road works or a workshop, a garage or a factory? The brilliantly bright LED Floodlight T300A delivers bright, energy efficient, flexible lighting in so many situations. Let’s dive into the spec. Exploring the LED Floodlight T300A model Choose from a floodlight with a wattage of either 75, 150, 240, 300 0r 480W, each driven with a top quality driver made by Meanwell, a respected manufacturer with an excellent reputation. The light source is also top quality, provided by Lumileds, a world leader in LED lighting technology and products. ‘Luminous flux’ – also called luminous power – measures the perceived power of light. It’s different from radiant flux, which the measures the total power of electromagnetic radiation. Luminous flux can be adjusted to cater for the sensitivity of the human eye to different wavelengths of light, which varies. It basically measures the total quantity of light energy emitted per unit time. In this case, the luminous flux is 140LM/W plus or minus 5. The CRI – Colour Rendering Index - measures how natural colours appear under artificial white light compared to sunlight. In this case it’s Ra>70/80, where the value given to natural sunlight is 100. A CRI of 70/80, typical of white LEDs, means the colours you see under the light are lifelike and accurate. The CCT – Correlated Colour Temperature, measures how yellow or blue the light appears, in other words its visual warmth or coolness. In this case it’s 2700 - 6500 Kelvin. 2700K is a warm, incandescent colour and 5000K or higher gives you a bright, white daylight colour. The rated voltage is AC 100-240V~, 50/60 Hz. This reveals the maximum voltage at which the device can safely be operated without damage or failure. And the Power Factor is >0.95, the ratio between true power and apparent power – you can read more about it here. There’s a choice of beam angle, which means you can point the light in the exact direction you want it: 45, 75 or 120 degrees. The IP Grade is IP65, which means it has complete protection from accidental contact, protection against dust (dust tight), and protection against jets of water from any direction. Read more about IP codes here. An aluminium cooling fin acts as the heat sink, and you can use the light in temperatures as cool as minus 40 C and as hot as approximately 60C. LED Floodlight T300A testing protocols This kind of kit needs to be tested thoroughly by experts to make sure it does that it says on the tin. In this case the light has gone through a Salt Spray Test proving it has good corrosion resistance. UV Ageing tests revealed it works normally without discolouration, yellowing of the lens, or rusting of the bracket over an impressive 1440 hours of testing. The Waterproof Test is carried out at least 2 hours before shipment and the High-Low Temperature Test proves it works perfectly at the temperatures we’ve mentioned above, a really wide range. Vibration Testing reveals the LED Floodlight T300A handles different sorts of vibrations well, from transport to installation and accrual use. And the Withstand Voltage Test proves it will handle unexpected surges through short circuits, operator errors, faults, breakdowns and accidents safely. Check out the whole LED Floodlight T300A spec Click here to read the fine details behind the different models , see diagrams of the light distribution curve, see results of the Integrating Sphere test report including Spectrum Parameters, and see the results of the Temperature Rising Report. At the end you’ll find the model numbers and details about the packaging, weight, and quantities per carton. Any questions about LED floodlighting? Want to light up your life? We’re always happy to help. We have the engineering expertise you need to get answers to all your LED floodlight questions.
Most businesses are temperature-sensitive, simply because almost every company has people working on the premises and people need to be comfortable to perform well. Some are more affected by the heat and the cold than others thanks to things they do, make and sell. Every building has different applications and uses. If you run a business with special temperature needs and don’t know where to start with planning for a climate change future, this article explores four of the best resources to help you figure out what kind of weather’s coming your way. At the end we suggest some truly impressive energy-saving heating and cooling solutions for the modern world. The Bank of England’s Climate Transition Plan The Bank of England’s new Climate Transition Plan for England is based on the findings of the most recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change assessment, and aligns with the UK’s 2050 Net Zero aim as well as the organisation’s own mission. The Bank’s Climate Transition Plan marks the first time they’ve set out their Physical Greenhouse Gas Emissions Target: to limit global warming to no more than 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. It reveals their strategic approach to achieving physical net zero by 2040, a decade earlier than originally planned. They’ve released the plan because ‘transition plans are an important tool for providing stakeholders with the information necessary to assess the strategy, ambition, and credibility of climate commitments’. In other words it’s a useful guide for other businesses wanting to address climate risks and make the most of the opportunities. Bearing in mind climate transition planning is at an early stage, they’ll be continually developing and refining the plan based on the science – so it’ll always be up to date. Well worth keeping an eye on. Insight from Carbon Brief The Carbon Brief website is a UK-based site all about the latest developments in climate science, climate policy and energy policy. Their articles are clear, data-driven and packed with graphics to help everyone, including business owners and risk managers, improve their understanding of climate change. Another useful resource to inform business planning, New Local Authority Climate Service The Met Office’s Local Authority Climate Service has been created for councils but the information is excellent for any business wanting to understand the potential climate change risks in their immediate area. This interactive tool also provides information to help and support you as you adapt to the coming changes, enabling good decision-making and informed climate adaptation planning. The Met Office’s City Packs The UK Met Office website is packed with excellent information including a collection of City Packs giving you high-level, non technical local summaries of various cities’ future climate. This robust climate information helps city decision makers plan for the future, and will also prove useful to businesses in the cities covered. Climate-friendly heating and cooling Evaporative cooling tech is the modern way to stay cool as things heat up, technology that savvy businesses are fitting to help them prepare for the climate changes to come. Today’s smart electric heating is a highly energy-effective way to warm up and stay warm without breaking the bank. Together they save a fortune in energy by heating and cooling your place super-efficiently. Get in touch to talk about finance-friendly, climate-friendly ways to keep your business running at peak efficiency whatever the weather.
A powerful climate-wrecker
Cool poultry means better productivity
An evaporative cooler system is a brilliant way to keep a premises comfortable to work in and systems fully operational, no matter how hot it gets outdoors. Here are some of the questions we’re regularly asked about this unusually powerful and highly cost effective way to cool business premises. How many evaporative coolers do you need for your building? A typical ECP down discharge unit will deliver cooling over a large circular area as large as 15m diameter, but our technical specialists will evaluate your place and let you know exactly what’s required for your particular circumstances. How much will the system cut the temperature? It depends on the ambient conditions but even when it’s hot outside, the maximum temperature indoors won’t exceed a comfortable, pleasant 25C. How much water and electricity does the system use? Water-wise a unit will use up 40L an hour over 24 hours in hot weather, and your electricity usage comes to 1.5kW an hour. Are evaporative cooler system units noisy? They’re so low-key you probably won’t notice the sound at all when in an industrial environment. But if you need things quieter, there are things we can do to subdue any sound. The system uses water – so does the air get soggy and humid? No, because the fresh, cool moving air provides a comfortable feel, not at all humid. And the system’s clever controls purge all the cooled air at the end of each day so humidity can’t build up anyway. This means there’s also no condensation, as long as ventilation is properly balanced. Is Legionnaires’ disease a risk with an evaporative cooler system? No, because the water that circulates never gets warmer than 20C and the system doesn’t let droplets form. There are more than 30 million evaporative cooler installations worldwide without a single case of Legionnaires’ disease. Does the system also clean the air? Each evaporative cooling unit has its own insect screen as standard, but if you also want the air scrubbed clean we have some exciting options for you. Evaporative cooli ng is great for humans – but how about livestock and animals? The short answer is ‘yes’. Evaporative cooling is a genuinely sustainable agricultural solutions, as visitors to the May 2024 Pig and Poultry World exhibition discovered. A working version of an exciting new heat exchanger was showcased at the event, designed to dramatically reduce the amount of gas used while coming in at a much lower capital cost than other solutions. These specialist agricultural cooling units have a small, neat footprint of less than two square metres, are made from tough stainless steel, and feature a clever double epoxy-coated plate heat exchanger to keep the unit safe in corrosive agricultural environments. Ask us a question... any question! Evaporative cooler systems come with so many advantages. A surprisingly low capital cost, impressive performance in a climate change world, super-low running costs plus a genuinely pleasurable, comfortable environment are the name of the game here. It’s easy to fit and retro-fit, very simple, needs very little maintenance, and is clean and completely safe. Would this type of cooling tech suit your premises? Why not explore the potential? There’s no obligation, we’re always happy to answer questions, so feel free to get in touch.