‘Carbon Careful’ Initiative Reuses Fluorescent Lighting Carcasses

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• ‘Carbon Careful’ Initiative Reuses Fluorescent Lighting Carcasses

01 March 2023

Refurbishing old luminaire carcasses into energy efficient LEDs can help commercial buildings reduce their carbon footprint, says FUTURE Designs.

LED is the lighting medium of choice for commercial buildings, due to its reuse of mild steel and aluminium and energy and carbon usage savings. It’s also safe to be disposed of without the risk of harmful gases such as mercury, unlike those found in fluorescent lamps.

Despite this, there are still millions of old fluorescent fittings being used to illuminate spaces. In the urgency to replace fluorescent lights with LEDs, entire old-style fluorescent luminaires have been replaced by completely new LED products prior to their end of life, rather than reusing the carcass. This urgency is exacerbated by the August 2023 deadline for facilities manager to rid their buildings of all T5 and T8 fluorescent lamps.

Adapting Old Luminaires Into LEDs

FUTURE Designs, a lighting solutions manufacturer, is looking to reduce the carbon cost of manufacturing new LEDS by reusing original lighting carcasses, saving hundreds of tons of mild steel and aluminium.

The company has released a book to showcase the buildings where existing luminaire carcasses have been refurbished to increase the sustainability of commercial premises. This includes Imperial College Library where the lighting upgrade plan saved 1.9 tonnes of steel being produced. This equates to 3.5 tonnes of carbon, the equivalent of microwaving 151,980 meals.

David Clements, FUTURE Designs Chief Executive said: “The carbon careful™ initiative could be described as our “best kept secret”, as a hugely efficient design and manufacturing business we have always endeavoured to keep waste to a minimum, and now as the world is faced with a growing necessity to Refurbish, Reuse and Restore wherever feasible, we are sharing our story and expertise to encourage more organisations to follow suit.” 

Picture: a photograph of an edison-style lightlulb. Image Credit: Unsplash

Article written by Ella Tansley | Published 01 March 2023

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