Kingstown Furniture and The Carbon Trust reduce energy usage in the bedroom

Engineers from energy usage specialist Vita Energia has completed a six week lighting retrofit across the entire Hull-based headquarters and 186,000 sq ft furniture manufacturing complex during which business continuity was ensured. Kingstown was granted an interest free loan from the Carbon Trust to support the £50,000 investment project, estimated to save the company around £27,000 in energy bills each year and generating a complete ROI within 22 months. Twin 58 watt T8 fluorescent tubes with magnetic ballasts were exchanged for 6 single tri-phosphor tubes with electronic ballasts, reducing power usage by 65 per cent and improving the quality of light by 140 per cent. David Busby, engineering manager at Kingstown Furniture said: "The process of going green started with the investment in a 4 megawatt biomass boiler and since then we have completely overhauled our waste management systems. Looking at reducing power usage by implementing a more efficient lighting system has been the natural next step for us, and because of the support from the Carbon Trust interest free loan, we're already seeing the results on our energy bills."