Visitors to the Derbyshire Eco Centre are finding their way around
with the help of Abacus Lighting’s new range of environmentally
friendly LED Quartz® bollards.
Set in fifty acres of Derbyshire Countryside, the new £1.4m
eco-centre at Middleton-by-Wirksworth has been designed to promote
sustainable living and the Abacus Quartz® LED Bollard was chosen by
the project’s main contractor, Wildgoose, because of its
sustainability and ability to reduce running costs and promote
efficiency. Its simple, aesthetic appearance also suits the
building’s picturesque surroundings whilst LED technology is helping
to reduce its carbon footprint by providing big energy savings.
The Centre, an official Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI),
uses solar panels for heating water, a grass roof and harvests
rainwater for its toilets. Chris Anderson, Regional Account Manager
at Abacus, said: “Our new LED Quartz® bollard is one of the most
energy-efficient amenity lighting systems of its kind so fits in
perfectly with the ethos of the Centre. A traditional louvered
bollard will emit typically 28% of the light it produces but our new
bollard emits 90%. The LED technology also gives big energy savings,
using 60% less wattage than conventional bollards, meaning lower
energy bills for the Centre.”
The LED Quartz® gives over 50,000 hours lighting use - four times
longer than conventional HID lamps - significantly reducing
maintenance and replacement costs. And, because LEDs contain no UV,
they are an ideal safe solution for pedestrian areas.
The Eco Centre site, which was funded by Derbyshire County Council,
The Skills Funding Agency and the Derbyshire Economic Partnership,
contains six former quarries, four lime kilns and over one hundred
and twenty disused lead mine shafts.
The Centre is Derbyshire’s hub for courses and activities focusing
on education for sustainable development and supports the Council’s
work to address climate change issues. It offers sustainable
building skills workshops, including dry stone walling, to support
the rural economy and conserve its heritage, as well as woodland
management, pottery and basket making and map reading courses
delivered by partners including the East Midlands Heritage Skills
Training Group and the East Midlands Regional Centre of Excellence
for Education for Sustainable Development.
To complement the lighting scheme, Abacus has also supplied a number
of 5m columns around the site carrying its contemporary flat glass
‘Oris’ lanterns.
Dave Cox, Senior Electrical Services Design Engineer at Derbyshire
County Council, said: ‘’Our in-house design team worked very closely
with Abacus Lighting to develop a scheme which had to be both
efficient in terms of light output and economical to run. The
solution met the planning requirements we needed to obtain a high
BREEAM score and helped us achieve an ‘Excellent’ rating for the
building.’’
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