A McDonald's franchise in Crewe, England, is saving 20 percent off its total electricity usage and reducing its CO2 emissions after installing a lighting voltage control system from Semplice Energy, a provider of technically advanced energy saving and renewable energy solutions.
The McDonald's franchise is using a system from Semplice Energy's range of “Intelligent Voltage Management” products that works with standard magnetic ballast discharge lighting systems. To reduce energy consumption, a microprocessor in the system detects when new fluorescent lighting circuits are switched on and provides sufficient voltage for the lights to “fire up”. The system then runs the lights for a pre-defined time before switching into energy saving mode. In this mode, the voltage supplied to the lights is carefully reduced, depending on factors such as the age of the lighting, cable run lengths and mains supply voltage level.
McDonald’s franchise owner Mike Charles said that he is also running trials in other areas where energy savings can be made now that the lighting has been such a success.
“I really wanted to see the difference in my utility bills and therefore we decided to run the trial for three months,” says Charles. “In August alone we saved 20 percent of our total electricity consumption against the same period last year.”
Semplice Energy ceo Mark Truswell added: “We are delighted with these results. They are proof that an organization can reduce their environmental impact while enjoying a healthy financial pay back.”
The project is being supported by the Carbon Trust, which is offering an interest-free loan under the Energy-Efficiency Loan Scheme.