A quiet but highly visible revolution is taking place in railway lighting. LED lights are slowly but surely displacing fluorescent and other antiquated technologies in stations, maintenance depots and other railway buildings.
As pioneers in LED lighting and wireless controls since 2006, Goodlight provides a comprehensive range of LED solutions for commercial, industrial, amenity, leisure and hospitality environments. Goodlight LED lights switch on instantly at full brightness with no warm-up required, they use much less power than traditional lighting technologies and are maintenance free. Their 50,000-hour lifespan equates to eleven years if switched on for 12 hours per day and they are guaranteed for five years against failures.
The Goodlight range has proved popular with design, engineering and sustainability professionals. Rail clients include Network Rail, HS1, Siemens Mobility, Cleshar, Arriva Rail and Transport for London, which has added Goodlight to its approved product register.
The approved products include Goodlight T8 LED tubes, which are mandated for use where LED tubes are required, and Goodlight G360 LED SON replacements which can be used anywhere on the network.
Huge savings
Adam Thackeray, works delivery manager for Network Rail, commented, “We decided to move to LED lighting to reduce our carbon output, reduce costs in terms of power consumption and to improve the lighting level and quality in public areas of the station. The opportunity to reduce costs for lamp replacement by moving from a two-year to a five-year cycle was a significant consideration.
“LED lighting will also increase the efficiency of emergency lighting, reducing the load on the battery/generators and reduce the temperature signatures of lighting and heat related failures.”
Rail organisations looking for a quick win on their energy usage can achieve incredible savings of up to 85 per cent simply by upgrading to LED lighting. Instantly, maintenance overheads are eliminated and the return on investment can be as little as six months, so it can be funded from energy savings alone.
Retrofitting is economical
In a new building, or one that is being refitted, it is a simple matter to install suitable LED light fittings from scratch – but many of the current projects involve re-equipping existing stations and buildings. Ripping out entire light fittings is costly, but the Goodlight range of lighting and control solutions can be installed directly into existing light fittings, which has transformed the economics.
Products from this range have now been approved for use across Transport for London’s network in both Section 12 (underground facilities) and non-Section 12 areas, such as the tube, rail and bus stations, depots and bus shelters.
Safety and security
Passenger safety and security is a high priority at any railway station, and lighting has a crucial role to play. A smart lighting system can mirror natural daylight during the hours of darkness, which fits in well with the 24/7 nature of many busy stations. It can also illuminate accessed areas, for example walkways and car parks.
Eliminating pockets of darkness with a robust LED lighting system will give passengers greater peace of mind and a better overall customer journey.
Taking Control
To maximise energy savings, owners can install a smart lighting control system which connects to luminaires wirelessly from a single interface, allowing any organisation to monitor, automate, control and report on all connected lighting. Optimal energy savings can be achieved through occupancy and daylight detection while presence detectors will ensure that any area is only lit when it is in use. Equally, a lighting control system can also dim lights when there is plenty of daylight.
Some smart lighting control systems, such as Light Boss, report on energy consumption and provide self-test emergency light monitoring, ideal for lighting maintenance facilitators and providers, allowing operators to check for faults remotely.
By operating lighting only where it is needed, rather than continually at 100 per cent, rail and transportation organisations can minimise energy consumption by up to 95 per cent, extend lighting lifecycles and lower maintenance costs. Payback can be from as little as 1.5 years.
Upgrading to LED lighting, and capitalising on these energy and maintenance savings, has allowed many railway stations to reap the economic rewards while improving working conditions and improving the environment for passengers to enjoy whilst travelling. With the emergence of smart wireless lighting control systems, there has never been a better time to maximise on energy consumption.
