Energy saving??

[GPS_fan]

Over the past few months, my council has been changing all the street lights with super new "energy saving" ones.

In addition to the replacement of old lights, a couple of new units were installed shortly before Christmas. These were not switching on at night and there was no sign of any wiring being run to these two lights. After a number of phone calls to the council, a team of workmen turned up on Good Friday, Easter Saturday AND Easter Sunday (nice bit of overtime for the contractors!!) to dig a trench and lay ducting to hold cabling for these lights, but another two months further on (more than 6 months after installation!) these two lights are still NOT wired up and working.

I'm guessing that if you don't connect something to a power source, it can be claimed to be 'saving' energy.

OK, so it's a fairly large job across the area which was compounded by the use of three different contractors - one to install new street light units, one to connect wiring to the new units and one to remove the old street lights - something which the council consider to be more efficient.

A couple of weeks after installation, those new street lights which had been wired were tweaked, leaving them running 24/7...not exactly living up to the claim of energy saving - or am I missing something?

After almost a dozen phone calls to the council, I have simply given up and wish that I could get away with such incompetence in my job!!


[/rant]
_________________
Andy
PocketGPSWorld.com supports Help for Heroes - Read here

[MaFt]

What?! That's just crazy! Have you tried writing? It usually works better than a phone call...

[GPS_fan]

I would, but they don't give an address for the office which is "dealing with it" and, guess what, the reference I was given shows as invalid online, although it's recognised when I phone and speak to a humanoid.

Additionally, when I first reported the issues, I was told that they could not be logged unless I gave them the specific number(s) off the streetlight(s) affected - there are no numbers on the two units not yet wired up and there were zillions of streetlights staying on 24/7 which the girl refused to log individually.

I've also had the pleasure of speaking directly with the person 'managing' the project and they clearly couldn't give a damn.

The 0845 number for reporting streetlight faults is directed to an office in Winchester, yet the direct line for the 'project manager' is a Southampton number.
_________________
Andy
PocketGPSWorld.com supports Help for Heroes - Read here

[M8TJT]

You could try writing to the Chief Executive at

Ken Thornber (Chief exec)
Hampshire County Council
County Council Headquarters
The Castle,
Winchester,
Hampshire, SO23 8UJ

01962 841841 (Fax: 01962 867273)
or reception at 01962 847323

Or Colin Davidovitz (Executive Member for Communications and Efficiency )
Same address

Google is your friend

[GPS_fan]

Thanks, but as I said in an earlier post, I just can't be bothered any more.
_________________
Andy
PocketGPSWorld.com supports Help for Heroes - Read here

[Darren]

It's crass stupidity like this and gross mismanagement that has left local authorities in the state they are. I'm sure we're all aware of similar stories with our own local authorities.

How about asking your local councillor for an explanation or perhaps passing the story to the local media?

I know of a case where a set of melamine shelves with the adjustable brackets were fitted in an office by workmen. The bill? £2000. For about £100's worth of materials and a few hours work. Contracted out to a private company by a local authority.

Makes my blood boil.
_________________
Darren Griffin

[Duddy]

[GPS_fan]

Their website allegedly gives the ability to report or track streetlight faults, so I would have expected the reference number to be available online too - otherwise, that part of the website is redundant and they should NOT be telling people to use it.

I am fully aware of intranets vs the internet and if a website allows users to enter reference numbers, it should have the ability to display information against that reference. Just like my company's website has certain information available to the public, much of it is hidden behind the scenes on the intranet.
_________________
Andy
PocketGPSWorld.com supports Help for Heroes - Read here

[GPS_fan]

AT LAST!!!

After almost EIGHT months, these lights are finally wired up and working - they must have saved a lot of energy in that time
_________________
Andy
PocketGPSWorld.com supports Help for Heroes - Read here

[Andy_P]

[M8TJT]

[Guivre46]

Nope, an ordinary fluorescent tube uses as much energy to start up as it does to then run the tube for 8 hours. So if the energy efficient tubes are only 3X more efficient, leaving them on makes sense.
_________________
Mike R [aka Wyvern46]
Go 530T - unsupported
Go550 Live [not renewed]
Kia In-dash Tomtom

[M8TJT]

Let’s take a 25w tube. This burns 200 watthours in 8 hours at a current of approximately 100ma @240v.
Let’s say the tube takes 10 seconds to start (an over estimate).
If the myth is true then the tube will take the ratio of 8hoursto 10 seconds of current to start for a period of ten seconds. The ratio of 10 seconds to 8 hours is 2880 which means that the start current will be this number times the running current which is 288A for 10 seconds or 576A if it starts in 5 seconds. Obviously a ridiculous figure, so obviously an urban myth, as I said.

[M8TJT]

And all on a 6Amp lighting circuit

[M8TJT]

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