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Unite Students lighting project shortlisted for Energy award – 19 October 2015

8 November 2016

Unite Students and Philips lighting have been shortlisted in the ‘Energy efficient building project of the year’ category for this year’s prestigious Energy Awards.

The nomination relates to the ambitious two-year lighting upgrade programme which Unite Students are undertaking in partnership with Philips Lighting.  The project is due for completion at the end of 2016, by which time nearly 300,000 new light fittings will have been installed across 134 Unite Students properties nationwide. 

The project went ahead following a pilot project which demonstrated significant benefits in terms of energy and carbon saving, maintenance reductions and improved living and study environments for students.

Unite Students Estate Director Steve Batley commented:

“It’s fantastic to be shortlisted for an Energy Award, which are highly regarded across business and industry. 

“As the longest established and leading private Student accommodator in the UK we’re constantly looking for ways to improve the service we provide. Our core purpose at Unite Students is providing our students with a ‘Home for Success’. This means helping them achieve more from their time at university, whether that is academic success, personal growth or employability. 

“We are working closely with Philips to make a real change to the look and feel of our buildings which will help create the right environment to support our Home for Success mission. The energy efficient purpose-made LED light fittings optimise layouts, provide reliability and improve controls for students. The new lighting will create a more inviting space for students which they can personalise for socialising or study.

“The project will deliver a real energy savings of around 15% which equates to a 6,000-9,000 tonnes reduction of CO2 per year. Additionally Unite Students maintenance staff who currently spend around 30% of their time to repairing lights or replacing lamps will be able to devote this time to other tasks which will help maintain and improve our properties to the benefit of our students. As well as being good for the environment and our students this is also good for Unite Students as a business.”

Jeremy Palmer, Sales Manager Public Lighting, Philips Lighting UK&I comments: 

“Lighting is one of the easiest ways to save energy. Switching to LED lighting can offer huge savings in energy use and maintenance costs, especially when combined with intelligent lighting control systems, whilst at the same time making people feel safer, more secure and more comfortable in public spaces, inside buildings and at home. The Unite Students project is a great example of where the key objectives of enhancing the living and learning environment of the students and driving forward their energy agenda is being achieved through a robust lighting and controls improvement strategy currently being rolled out across their estate. 

“To be shortlisted in these awards is recognition of the significant role lighting has to play in solving our energy challenges. For example lighting accounts for 19% of global electricity consumption and around 6% of worldwide CO2 emissions. A global transition to widely available efficient solutions by 2030 could reduce electricity demand for lighting by more than 30% and avoid over one gigaton of CO2.”

The winners of the 2015 Energy awards will be announced at the London Hilton on Park Lane at a gala awards dinner on Tuesday 2 December. To find out more about the awards visit: www.theenergyawards.com/