Wolseley’s bright idea saves enough power for 300 homes

A NEW and ambitious environmental project from Warwickshire-based building supplies group Wolseley UK is set to save enough electricity to power 303 homes every year.  

Replacing 4,359 light fittings with LED lighting at the firm’s national distribution centre (NDC) in Leamington Spa will achieve annual energy savings of £100,000.

In addition, the company has been awarded a grant of £50,000 towards the project from the Department of Energy and Climate Change under the Electricity Demand Reduction (EDR) pilot scheme.

Just 18 companies, including Network Rail, BAE Systems and Tata Steel UK, met the criteria for the EDR scheme, which will fund 10% of Wolseley UK’s LED project.

By proactively investing into the scheme, the plumbing and heating merchant is reinforcing its commitment to finding sustainable energy solutions that benefit the environment as well as the business.

Project partners AA Projects and Cloudfm estimate that the NDC’s annual kWh savings equate to approximately 1 mega watt, offering a payback period of approximately 4.6 years.

They estimate that grid electricity demand will reduce by 236,000KWH during the months of November to February, between the hours of 4pm to 8pm.

John Page, site facilities manager at Wolseley UK, said: “I am proud that our business is continually investing in schemes and initiatives that reduce our environmental impact. It’s great to be contributing to a UK-wide approach to energy saving, whilst reducing our energy bills too.

“We are also pleased to be one of just 18 companies selected for the government’s EDR pilot scheme that aims to reduce demand for electricity at peak times.”

The LED project is due for completion at the end of September this year.