LED Lighting Creates Cost and Carbon Savings for Essex Leisure Centre

LED lighting is the perfect choice for swimming pools, providing high-quality, cost-effective illumination while creating an energising environment and supporting safety. LED specialist Earlsmann was recently invited by Approved Electrical to design new pool lighting at Loughton Leisure Centre in Essex. The new scheme is now boosting light levels by 50% and achieving annual energy savings of 35,000 kWh.

Before: the pool area was underlit by the energy-hungry metal halide units		After: the new LED lighting creates a bright, inviting space, even when there is no natural light available

LEDs provide clear advantages over energy-hungry, unreliable metal halide lights

Loughton Leisure Centre has been operated by Places for People Leisure since 2017, and the company is keen to continually improve the facilities and reduce energy costs. The original metal halide lighting in the swimming pool area was inefficient, and becoming increasingly unreliable and expensive to maintain. With some units failing, the light levels had dropped to around 200 lux. Places for People decided to invest in replacing the entire lighting system with LEDs to provide a better experience for swimmers and to reduce ongoing maintenance and energy costs. The overall target lux level was 300 lux with >0.7 uniformity, to comply with CIBSE guidelines.

Earlsmann provides bespoke design to maximise the potential of LED lighting

Contractor, Approved Electrical Installations Ltd, asked Earlsmann to attend Essex Leisure Centre and provide a proposal for energy-efficient, high-quality lighting. Through modelling, Earlsmann developed a scheme that uses a combination of uplights and downlights to allow for different installation heights across the sloping ceiling above the pool. For low-level lights (at three metres), the replacement units are uplights to avoid glare and illuminate the pool uniformly. Where the luminaires are installed at eight metres above the water, they are installed as downlights to maximise energy savings. The main pool is now lit to 350 lux and 0.73 uniformity.

To maintain the safety of users and keep the pool open Approved Electrical installed the new lighting during four overnight shifts. Swimmers at the centre are now enjoying the bright, energising atmosphere created by the lighting. Tim Norton, of Approved Electrical said, “the combination of up and down lighting has produced one of the best lit pools I’ve seen, while also maximising energy savings”.

Energy-efficient LEDs generate big cost savings and environmental benefits

The new lighting, which has also been installed around the smaller teaching pool, now uses just 6.6kW (compared with 12kW used by the old lights). This will create substantial energy savings of around 35,000 kWh a year, and reduce carbon output by 19 tonnes. Due to these impressive savings, Places for People Leisure will be able to cover the cost of the project within just three years – and will then benefit from significant ongoing savings.

Earlsmann – your experienced partner in creating total LED lighting solutions

Earlsmann is a UK-based commercial LED lighting company with many years’ experience in the LED marketplace, providing a comprehensive range of LED lighting solutions to suit every interior and exterior application. In-house designers use Relux modelling to create innovative solutions tailored to client requirements. Find out more about Earlsmann’s commercial lighting products call 08456 434 740 or email sales@earlsmann.co.uk.

Why not take a look at our other Commercial Swimming Pool Lighting projects to see how we’ve helped our customers generate significant energy savings and created a bright and safe atmosphere.