Switch to more sustainable lighting displays

At a time of rising energy costs and potential shortages, putting up a town centre lighting display might look like a case of ‘not reading the room’. But how much energy do they really consume? Probably much less than you think.

Lighting displays increase footfall. And if we’re entering an economic slowdown shopping districts will need a boost. So let’s take a look at some of the facts around sustainable lighting displays.

Sustainability has been our biggest business driver in recent years. Here are a few of the innovations that help ensure the lighting displays you use to boost footfall and support local retail centres is compatible with sustainability goals.

Let’s start with a question (you’ll find the answer below). What length of lighting string fitted with modern LEDs could you power with the equivalent consumption of a domestic kettle?

Better lights

The advent of LED lighting drove a major improvement in sustainability. First generation LEDs were 90% more energy-efficient than traditional incandescent lamps. The second generation LEDs we now use are 50% better still.

This means that the energy needed to power a single 180W street lamp would power a 300m lighting string with 2400 LEDs. Alternatively it would power more than six column motif displays or 3000 icicle LED units, which would make a string up to 100m long.

And here’s the answer to our earlier question: many modern domestic kettles are rated at 3kW, which would power a 5km string containing 40,000 LEDs.

One way to improve sustainability might be to renew your old lighting displays. A typical display unit that uses modern technology will take 33 hours to consume a single kWH of electricity.

Recycling and extended life

Recycling is only a partial answer. It’s essential to make things that last longer through better quality manufacturing and superior materials.

Many of our display units have been in use for over seven years – double the previous life expectancy. We’ve also extended the lifespan of our frames to up to 15 years. Better quality also cuts the maintenance burden in service.

Taking good care of lighting display elements helps to extend their life even further. We can store and maintain seasonal displays so they can be used year after year with lower servicing and repair costs.

The Festive Lighting Company recognises that boosting the economic health of town centres has to be done as sustainably as possible. We aim to offer the ideal balance between making an impact and protecting the environment.

If you have any questions about lighting display sustainability we’d be delighted to answer them, call The Festive Lighting Company on 01823 667788 or email create@festivelighting.co.uk.