Modern Building Services

10 MODERN BUILDING SERVICES AUGUST 2022 FEATURE ELECTRICAL SERVICES LIGHTING P roducts that do not generate waste and do not themselves become waste are ideal for a circular economy. With sustainable management of material flows, companies can tackle global challenges like climate change, biodiversity loss, waste, and pollution. The key to success starts with product design and ends with an industry-wide collaboration to keep products useable for the most time. Here, TRILUX UK breaks down the generic ‘circular economy’ term and outlines viable approaches such as Reuse, Refurbish or Recycle, which the industry can take. The 19th of May 2022 was the UK’s Overshoot Day. Overshoot Day marks when humanity’s demand for ecological resources and services in a given year exceeds what the earth can generate in that year. It is clear that we are already living on borrowed resources. The time to act is now; we as a construction community need to start behaving more responsibly. By now, you will have encountered the terms linear and circular economy. We need to transition from the linear ‘throwaway’ model where we ‘take- make-waste’ and embrace the circular economy ‘R’ strategies like, reusing, repairing, refurbishing, and recycling existing materials and products. In the lighting industry, this was a departure from tradition but has triggered newmanufacturing and business models providing a resilient system that is good for business, people, and the environment, from the reduction in volatility in the price of rawmaterials to increased economic growth. Three main approaches to circular lighting Until recently, the circular economy in lighting was focused on recyclable parts. We have condensed the R strategies and identified three main courses of action a specifier can take to implement circularity in their projects. 1. Reuse In some cases (where the luminaire body is intact), it is possible to reuse the existing luminaire, redesign, and retrofit it with LEDs and a new gear tray s0 retaining the main body and other usable parts is a perfect example of circular principles at play. Additionally, this is one to consider with the impending 2023 Government regulation, which will see the phase- out of some fluorescent, compact fluorescent, and high-pressure sodium lamps. Businesses need to start thinking about upgrading or changing their lighting to ensure the safety and usability of their spaces, avoiding themad rush to find dwindling replacements. In a recent office project in the iconic LondonWall building, we redesigned and refurbished over 400 14W, 21W, and 26WT5 and TC-D fluorescent luminaires to incorporate LEDs and DALI gear trays. The point-for-point replacement delivered a 47% energy and cost-saving, equivalent to 6.6MT of CO2. Moreover, the Reuse project saved 1.3 tonnes of newmaterial compared to installing new lights, reducing waste, and preserving virgin material. 2. Refurbish Circularity has seen an implosion of new business models. None more so than the leasing model, ideal for a new build project. Leighton James , Product & Marketing Director at TRILUX discusses the growing effects of anthropogenic climate change, and increasing concerns over natural resource scarcity have pushed the Circular Economy agenda to the forefront. The circle of light