Skip to content

Shedding light in a sustainable way

At AWE we actively seek ways to reduce or minimise our carbon footprint.

This short case study explains how we took a more sustainable approach to providing better lighting in one of our car parks.

The challenge

In 2012, low light measurements in one of the car parks on the Aldermaston site meant that we needed to install additional lighting to create better visibility.

Traditional lamp posts require a bottom-fed mains cable routed through underground trenches, connected back to a suitable switch room. We also needed sufficient spare capacity in the switch room, bringing the total cost to more than £30,000, as estimated by our Electrical Distribution Team.

The solution

The installation of solar and wind energy-powered lighting combined with high output, low consumption,Light Emitting Diode (LED) lamps attached to traditional posts gave us a much better and more sustainable solution.

It was more cost effective too. The total cost of purchasing, installing and commissioning three units was about £16,000 compared to about £36,000 for the mains-fed traditional lamp posts – an initial saving of some £20,000.

And because the new lighting uses ‘free’ electricity from renewable sources, we will also save an estimated additional £3,000 in energy costs over the anticipated 20-year lifetime compared with using traditionally powered 150-watt incandescent lamps.

Whilst the selection of this sustainable technology is suitable for this application, it is not recommended for areas where mains connection is possible. It may be the right lighting solution for remote areas where connection costs are high or when energy prices have increased considerably, but it must be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

Latest news

Latest News

Celebrating Ada Lovelace – the worlds’ first computer programmer 

Last week, in Ada Lovelace’s honour, a passionate team from AWE welcomed around 70 enthusiastic Year 6 students and their teachers to a STEM event to celebrate science, creativity and resilience.   In the early 19th century, long before the digital age, Ada Lovelace laid the groundwork for modern computing. Born in 1815, Ada was fascinated by mathematics […]

Press Releases

Office for Nuclear Regulation investigation findings

Today, the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) announced its investigation findings following the fatality of a Balfour Beatty employee in 2023, who was working in a construction enclave on AWE’s Aldermaston site.

A commemorative display in a grand room with marble columns and historic portraits, showcasing AWE's 75-year timeline of nuclear security technologies from the 1940s to the present, under the slogan 'Proud of our past. Prepared for the future.'

Latest News

75 Years of AWE: A landmark innovation showcase

On 16 October, AWE marked a major milestone in its history with the ‘AWE75: Proud of our past. Prepared for our future.’ event at the Institution of Civil Engineers, London. The event saw over 100 guests from across government, academia and the defence community gather to commemorate AWE’s legacy and look ahead to our future.

Search Sitemap Sitemap XML