Green light for Everards Brewery

Established in 1849, Everards says it has a strong commitment to combining traditional values and practices with innovation and modern technology, and has embarked on a range of measures to minimise environmental impact. "Upgrading the lighting was one of a number of energy-saving initiatives we have implemented recently. It has brought significant additional benefits in terms of health and safety and improving the working environment for our workforce, as well as facilitating more accurate picking and reducing maintenance costs," said Everards' engineering and compliance manager Steve Brassington. The project encompassed a large warehouse divided into two areas, a draught beer cellar a loading dock and a garage area. The warehouse and cellar areas were formerly lit by 250W high pressure sodium (SON) light fittings, while the loading dock and garage were using elderly fluorescent lighting. In warehouse and cellar areas, fluorescent fittings from the Luton-based lighting specialist Chalmor have been installed on a point-for-point basis, while in the garage multi-wattage fittings have been used. In the loading dock the Chalmor design has used fittings that are zoned into three rows, each controlled separately through a 6-channel lighting controller enabling the lighting to be switched off row by row, in relation to the penetration of natural daylight into the space. In addition to reducing its energy consumption and creating a brighter and more pleasant working environment, Everards will benefit from lower maintenance requirements as re-lamping cycles have been extended from two years to six years. This will also reduce the cost of lamp disposal in compliance with the WEEE Directive over the life of the lighting system.