Lightbulb moment as £1m Assura investment reduces energy usage for GP surgeries

Published: 20-Jun-2022

Energy-efficient LED lightbulbs installed at 30 primary care facilities as part of carbon net-zero efforts

Assura, the primary care premises specialist, has announced a £1m-plus investment in a pilot LED light scheme has significantly reduced the amount of energy used across a group of its medical centres.

The centres have all slashed the energy demand in their consultation rooms, waiting areas, training, and team spaces after the replacement of all lighting in their buildings as part of the national project.

The Assura pilot is part of the company’s SixbySix strategy to minimise the impact of its buildings on the environment, en route to fully net-zero carbon primary care buildings.

One of the key aspects of this is reducing energy consumption and, to help achieve this goal, Assura is working to get every one of its buildings to an EPC rating of Band B or higher across the entire portfolio by March 2026 - four years ahead of planned national carbon neutral targets.

Assura, based in Warrington, plans to improve the EPC ratings of at least 50 buildings per year and the pilot project was the first step for the company.

The works were carried out with the help of contractors, Quartz Elec and FES Lighting.

LED is currently one of the most-efficient lighting technologies, using 25% of the electricity of ordinary light bulbs and lasting up to 25 times longer.

Assura invested £1.2m in the programme which has reduced energy needs by almost one million kilowatts.

Across the 30 medical centres involved in the pilot, that’s the equivalent of an estimated £158,950 saved on annual energy bills.

Paul Warwick, Assura senior project manager, said: “We are committed to a net-zero carbon portfolio and that starts with making our existing buildings more energy efficient.

“While we’re designing and innovating to reach net zero on our new-build projects, we’re also making the small-but-important changes at existing sites like these - ensuring we play our part in a sustainable future and supporting the NHS to meets its goal to be the first net-zero carbon health service by 2040.”

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