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A £46m LED lighting fund unveiled

The Government has announced a £46m money pot to enable NHS trusts to improve and expand the use of LED lighting across their estates.

The cash will be made available through Public Dividend Capital. It will help the NHS save money on its energy bills through energy efficiency.

A spokesman for NHS Improvement said, “The NHS spends over £540m annually on energy, and interventions like this not only reduce this spend, but also improve the environment for patients and staff, and to reduce related carbon emissions.

“In many cases, investment in infrastructure will also reduce the backlog maintenance risk for trusts. With investment in energy-efficiency projects, this could drop by as much as 10% over the next 36 months as it would enable capital investment to flow into spend-to-save programmes.”

He added: “NHS Improvement has considered the range of energy conservation measures and identified energy-efficient LED lighting as the most-effective solution to deliver savings within the required timescales”.


Return on investment

ROI in LED lighting projects in both healthcare buildings and the wider public and private sectors is proven.

For example, an investment on LED lighting of £96,000 at King’s College Hospital has been seen a return in 4.8 years and lifetime savings of £262,000 are projected.

“Trusts do tell us they are keen to implement LED lighting projects, but requests for financial support are often not prioritised in local capital allocation processes” said the NHS Improvement spokesman.

All NHS trusts were eligible to apply for the funding and had to submit their request by the end of November. Allocation will be prioritised for those demonstrating the greatest potential and need.

Welcoming the announcement, Kevin Cox, managing director at Energys Group, said,
“Estate managers across the NHS have a huge challenge in striking a fine balance of patient care coupled with operational efficiency.

“This fund will help to reduce carbon and energy bills as well as deliver a cut to maintenance costs. This frees up much-needed funds which can be put directly back into frontline services.”

 

The benefits of LED lighting

  • A 5%-20% reduction in electricity use.
  • Potential carbon savings of up to 45%.
  • Reduced ongoing maintenance costs.
  • Improved staff environment, enabling more-efficient and precise working.
  • Improved patient experience with a more-pleasant environment,
    improved wayfinding etc.
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