Zeta completes £2m LED upgrade for RBWM six months ahead of schedule
As part of its ‘spend to save initiative’ the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead (RBWM) awarded Bicester-based Zeta Specialist Lighting a £2m contract to replace all of its existing street lighting estate with energy-efficient LED luminaires.
The council’s overriding objective was to reduce both its carbon footprint and annual street lighting budget, by saving on maintenance costs and energy bills.
In the competitive tender process, Zeta’sSmartScape range of street and area lighting solutions which are manufactured at the firm’s UK-based production facility, were deemed to offer the most competitive and efficient solution.
The tender specified a requirement to meet precise design criteria and supply in excess of 16,000 LED luminaires that would deliver significant savings in energy consumption as well as have a guaranteed design life of one hundred thousand hours. All products were to be supplied and installed within a maximum period of 18 months.
The contract win included approximately 14,000 SmartScape Nano and Macro LED street lights which were installed in residential areas and traffic routes across the Borough. Zeta also provided over 1,000 SmartScape Heritage LED conversion kits which met RBWM’s objective to retain rather than replace heritage-style lanterns in historic positions, including in the centre of Windsor and in some local parish areas.
The legacy lighting on major roads into cities including Windsor and Ascot were upgraded with Zeta’s SmartScape Macro. Zeta supplied 2,500 of this versatile LED street light which is designed specifically for distributor and traffic routes within both urban and rural areas and consumes in excess of 70 per cent less energy compared with conventional SOX, SON and CFL luminaires.
All lights were fitted with the Telensa control system which provides real-time reporting of the lights’ functionality as well as the ability to dim or increase the lighting output if required.
In addition, Zeta provided a number of other LED products including the Zeta Bespoke Retrofit Subway Kits and Zeta SignLite retrofit kits. Some 200 subway lights across the Borough were re-glazed, upgraded and retrofitted with 18W and 36W variants of Zeta Bespoke Retrofit Subway Kits, replacing energy-hungry lighting which ranged from 24W to 65W. Zeta’s SignLite retrofit kits featuring low-energy 6W LEDs, are providing long-lasting illumination for over 1,000 roads signs in cities including Ascot, Windsor and Maidenhead.
As well as manufacturing and supplying the luminaires, Zeta worked closely with all other parties involved (including CMS provider Telensa and contractor AA Lighting Ltd), to project manage and co-ordinate the rollout to ensure it ran smoothly.
Overall, Zeta’s low-energy solution will deliver in excess of a 60 per cent reduction in energy consumption and associated costs. Furthermore, Zeta’s LED systems require significantly less maintenance, which lowers the cost and time requirement for RBWM to manage and maintain the lighting.
Additionally, with CMS systems integrated within each street luminaire, light levels can now be controlled centrally; improving estate management and maintenance.
Cllr Phill Bicknell, Cabinet Member for highways, transport and Windsor and Deputy Leader of the council, Royal Borough Windsor and Maidenhead said: “This was a major project and Zeta successfully rolled it out in the short timescale of 12 months. We made the decision to undertake this project to provide our residents with better value for money street lighting and to reduce energy usage for the benefit of the environment.”