It is becoming increasingly important to take energy efficiency very seriously in today’s environment. Apart from the fact that our planet cannot cope with the rate at which we burn fossil fuels and extreme dumping of dangerous amounts of carbon into the atmosphere, our local energy provider is also struggling to satisfy current demand.

The serious nature of addressing energy efficiency is confirmed by Eskom’s recently announced emergency wake-up call to all large businesses to reduce energy efficiency.  The African Utility Week’s pending focus on assisting large power users to be more energy efficient should also influence energy usage.
Bytes Systems Integration has recognised the need for a mind-shift change on how it uses electricity and has proactively embarked on an energy efficiency project to reduce the energy consumption at its own facilities. Bytes Midrand Campus was earmarked as a pilot project and a detailed assessment was performed by its own Workforce Management Division. The initiative made it very apparent that the existing lighting system was ineffective and that it contributed to the campus’ poor energy profile, as most lights were left on unnecessarily, 24 hours a day.

As a result of the preliminary assessment, Bytes Systems Integration engaged Eskom and registered the Midrand Campus initiative as an energy efficiency project. Accordingly all the old light fittings and the duration of the lights’ burn per day were entered into the Eskom rating tool and this was compared to the newly proposed lighting technology. The calculation resulted in Eskom confirming a rebate of more than R 300k. According to Andre Ellis, Workforce Management Consultant at Bytes Systems Integration, they installed smart energy meters as Phase 1 in five of the buildings at the Midrand Campus in order to accurately measure the current consumption as well as to measure the results of the new, energy efficient lighting system.  The ability to access the smart meters individually via a standard web browser from anywhere in the world gives the facility managers and financial manager the ability to draw real time information on the actual performance of their facilities. Dynamic dashboards display accurate information on energy consumption and carbon spend via any monitor connected to the building. The company can therefore broadcast its green initiatives to visitors and staff.

Phase 2 focused on replacing the existing 3 bay recessed (3 x 35W) fittings with 750 of the latest T5 recessed (2X28W) fittings with integrated occupancy sensors.  BSI-Workforce Management Division also replaced the existing 50W down lights with 430 of the latest LED 7W lights. As part of the solution the existing CFL down lights in the auditorium were replaced with 114 x 30W LED down lights with integrated dimming function. Dimming technology was introduced in the board rooms as well.  To complete the installation BSI-Workforce Management Division installed 250 x 30W LED down lights to replace the existing CFL fitting spread all over the campus.

The ultimate result of introducing the new energy efficient technology at its Midrand Campus allowed Bytes Systems Integration to record a saving in excess of  R1, 2 million over a 12 month period. On top of that, it reduced its carbon production from 1, 4 million kg’s to approximately 542,000 kg’s per annum. The systems also corrected the power factor that ultimately contributed to the massive saving. Based on the above-mentioned cost reduction of the newly installed technology and the R300k rebate from Eskom, the ROI is calculated to be recouped in less than 2 years. With phenomenal savings and the pending carbon tax which promotes responsible electricity consumption, this project is not only successful but also potentially very attractive for companies to take on.