Whitecroft Lighting’s LED lighting at Hinkley Point C has set a new specification standard for the nuclear energy industry – and scored a first in the process.
HPC was the company’s first nuclear energy lighting contract and was some six years in the making, as the company researched, collaborated and custom tested to deliver the first LED lighting proven to be optimised for the needs of the nuclear industry.
As a result, LED lighting has been written into the specification for Hinkley Point C (HPC) – the first time LEDs have been included in a nuclear power project.
Although low-energy LED lighting has become the new industry standard across most markets, the technology was still to be proven for lighting nuclear energy, which to-date has mainly used traditional fluorescent lighting.
With the support of the Hinkley Supply Chain, Whitecroft Lighting was encouraged to work with the project to try and find an energy-saving lighting solution.
Tony Male, Whitecroft Lighting’s Regional Sales Manager, Wales and West, said: “Fluorescent lighting is essentially a 1930s technology and much of it is set to be phased out by new industry standards over the coming years.
“EDF was keen that HPC benefited from the energy saving benefits of LEDs where appropriate, and its preference was to use a UK lighting manufacturer.
“Whitecroft not only saw this as an opportunity to be part of one of Europe’s largest infrastructure projects, but to also break new ground for lighting and set new standards for the nuclear energy industry for years to come.
“The Hinkley Supply Chain team was instrumental in encouraging Whitecroft Lighting, a UK manufacturer, to engage with the Hinkley Point C project and develop a new, specialist LED lighting solution for the nuclear energy sector.”
Innovating to the unique standards of nuclear energy meant tackling a new set of engineering and environmental challenges as well as safety considerations.
Mr Male said the LEDs and the electronics which supported them had to be proven to meet HPC’s stringent safety standards.
“Each requirement encouraged Whitecroft Lighting’s custom design team into new areas of creativity and collaboration, and in many ways, these testing regimes are as innovative as the final product.
“After multiple layers of testing, we eventually demonstrated that we could deliver a viable LED solution for the zones covering around 90 percent of HPC’s estate,” Mr Male said.
As a result, Whitecroft initially agreed to supply around 40,000 LED luminaires across a broad range of buildings and facilities. These include specialist environments, such as the generation halls and more standard areas, including the command building.
Whitecroft Lighting’s first batch of specialist LEDs were delivered to HPC in May this year, with further large consignments of luminaires and other hardware to be made over the duration of the site’s ongoing construction.
Mr Male explained: “The unique LEDs luminaires manufactured for HPC by Whitecroft will be around 40% more energy efficient than traditional fluorescent lighting, so enabling LEDs to be written into the HPC specification is a ground-breaking moment for the lighting and nuclear industry.
“Over the 40,000 LED luminaires supplied, the saving will equate to around 11,200KWh each day – the equivalent of around 3,000 average family sized homes.
“The exciting legacy for this investment in research and development is that nuclear energy projects across Europe can now be able to share in the benefits of the high quality and energy efficient lighting previously not available for nuclear zones.”
Founded in 1945 and based in Asthon-under-Lyne, Greater Manchester, Whitecroft Lighting is one of the UK’s largest public and private sector lighting manufacturers.
It prides itself on its business and product sustainability by reducing the amount of material in its products and promoting circularity, reducing whole life carbon and waste.
Part of the Fagerhult Group, Whitecroft Lighting has 343 employees, turns over £55m and undertakes all R&D, product design and manufacturing in its UK HQ and neighbouring 10,000 sqm manufacturing facility.
