Bright idea L.E.D to savings

Nick Nichols, business editor | November 28th, 2009 | Gold Coast Bulletin

WHILE Canberra squabbles over an emissions trading scheme, one Gold Coast company is pushing ahead with plans to cut the carbon footprint for Gold Coast apartment buildings.

Renewable Air Energies has just finished testing its new-technology LED lights at the Mantra Legends Hotel in Surfers Paradise.

The building’s maintenance manager, Jason Watkins, said he recorded a 55 per cent reduction in power use during the test, conducted in the hotel’s car park where 200 fluorescent lights were powered up 24 hours a day.

Mr Watkins, a trained electrical engineer, estimated swapping all 600 fluro lights in Legends’ common areas would result in an annual power saving of between $10,000 and $15,000 for unit owners.

“I’ve run some tests on different types of LEDs, but these are the best that I’ve seen,” he said.

“They’ve given me a higher light output and the light is crystal clear.”

The success of the initial tests have fired up body corporate manager Ernst Body Corporate to explore using Renewable Air Energies’ LED lights on other Gold Coast properties.

“Personally I was really impressed with the amount of light these things give out,” said Bryan Connelly, body corporate manager with Ernst.

He said the Legends body corporate committee, which ultimately would decide on whether it changed to LED, also had been impressed by the results.

Ernst controls body corporate services for several key buildings on the Coast, including Aria, Avalon, Xanadu and Swell at Burleigh.

Renewable Air Energies, which also has developed a new range of generators that piggy-back existing building ventilators, is manufacturing its range of linear L.E.Ds in Malaysia.

Sales and marketing manager Chris Rosch said the company had orders to install 5000 LED units by the end of December.

Renewable Air Energies also was talking to several major corporations, he said.

“These companies are looking to reduce their own carbon emissions in light of the new emissions trading scheme being introduced by the Federal Government,” he said.

The company plans to sell the lighting in tandem with its power generator, which potentially can light a building’s entire common areas for free.

Mr Rosch said that the LED lights, with an average lifespan of five years, would pay for themselves through power savings within two years.

Meanwhile, Mr Connelly said he hoped to have the L.E.Ds installed before new government regulations for the disposal of fluro lights.

Under the government plan, it will cost building managers $2.50 to dispose of each fluro, which contains highly toxic material such as mercury and phosphorous.