Blackpool takes a shine to LeafNut

Date Announced: 24 Jun 2010 Leeds based Harvard Engineering plc is pleased to announce it has won a contract worth £4M to deploy its award-winning central monitoring and wireless control solution for street lighting, LeafNut, across Blackpool. The contract follows the decision by Community Lighting Partnership (CLP), working on behalf of Blackpool Council, to award E-ON UK the renewal and ongoing maintenance work of life-expired road lighting, illuminated traffic signs and traffic signals equipment. The deal means that LeafNut will be deployed across 22,000 pieces of apparatus, leading to savings of up to £1 million in energy costs per annum and over 2 million kg per annum on carbon emissions. With the introduction of the Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) and The Climate Change Act 2008 - which has set legally binding targets for an 80 per cent reduction in carbon emissions by 2050 - reducing carbon emissions is becoming increasingly important for Local Councils up and down the UK. LeafNut can contribute significantly to Local Councils meeting these targets.LeafNut allows Local Authorities to manage their street lighting without having to controversially switch off street lights. This is done through the use of the LeafNut Central Management System technology which remotely adjusts the output of each individual street light. With the system street lights can be programmed at different lighting levels corresponding to peak needs such as rush hours and areas of late night entertainment, dimming the lights in times and areas of low need such as the early hours of the morning. This can save up to £46 per street light, per year and 100kg of carbon emissions per street light, per year.Harvard Engineering plc has spent over 6 years developing the revolutionary system, which has so far been deployed by 47 Councils across the world including; Hobart – Tasmania, Westminster and Zurs - Austria. The work in Blackpool further highlights the recognition that LeafNut is gaining amongst Local Councils worldwide.Michael McDonnell, Harvard Engineering’s sales and marketing director, said: “We are delighted that the LeafNut system was chosen for Blackpool. We are proud to have created a revolutionary, environmentally friendly, energy saving street lighting solution which is gaining global recognition.”Andy Ashton, PFI contract manager at Blackpool Council, commented: “We are very happy with LeafNut not only because of the tangible energy and CO2 savings it will deliver, but also because of the whole life support package that Harvard provides with the solution.”About Harvard Engineering plcHarvard Engineering plc is a world leader in the design, development and manufacture of electronic ballasts and control products for the lighting industry. The company supplies some of the most innovative and efficient products for commercial, retail and emergency lighting applications.Building on nearly 20 years experience and expertise in the lighting industry, the company’s manufacturing facility in Leeds houses one of the best equipped research and development laboratories in the UK.

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