Supermarket installs to LED lighting to enhance customer experience and cut emissions

Supermarket installs to LED lighting to enhance customer experience and cut emissions

Tout’s Budgens in Somerset chose to completely refurbish its Cheddar supermarket with LED lighting after seeing the light quality and energy savings the latest LED technology can provide.

The supermarket asked LED lighting specialists MHA Lighting to devise a scheme for the re-launch of its Church Street store, which would showcase the fresh, quality produce it is famous for to best effect.

MHA Lighting replaced traditional fluorescents with 84 TiLite fittings from its patented product range. A further 38 LED down-lighters were installed over tables in the store’s Subway concession and in the pharmacy areas.

High colour rendering qualities

The new installation not only provides high colour rendering of 80CRI with 4500 kelvin – the optimal colour for displaying produce – but has cut lighting energy costs and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions production by 65%.

Tom Harrison, MHA Lighting managing director, said: “Our installation has provided Tout’s Budgens at Cheddar with energy savings of £89,539 over the product’s lifetime. Equally importantly, we have managed to save 567 tonnes of CO2. The lighting system is also extremely low maintenance and will run for 60,000 hours of continuous use.”

In the case of Tout’s Budgens at Cheddar – with an 18 hour a day operation – the provider said this means that the lights will not need replacing for nine years and will save an added £12,880 on routine maintenance.

Cutting down on air conditioning

The lack of heat given off by LED lighting allows further energy savings to be made through reduced use of air conditioning systems. The machines do not have to work as hard to cool down additional heat in the shop, which is beneficial for open refrigerators.

Philip Tout, owner of Tout’s Budgens, said: “We chose to make the switch to LED lighting as part of our commitment to improving the customer experience and reducing the carbon footprint of the business.”

Tout continued: “We are delighted with the results and are already getting positive feedback from our customers about how great the new store looks and the feel of the store created by the light. All our stores stock the best quality fresh produce from local growers and the LED lighting really enhances the appearance of our fruit and veg and butchery offering.”