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Energy saving??
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GPS_fan
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PostPosted: Thu Jun 23, 2011 9:26 pm    Post subject: Energy saving?? Reply with quote

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]
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MaFt
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PostPosted: Thu Jun 23, 2011 11:10 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

What?! That's just crazy! Have you tried writing? It usually works better than a phone call...
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GPS_fan
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PostPosted: Fri Jun 24, 2011 5:40 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

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.
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M8TJT
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PostPosted: Fri Jun 24, 2011 8:37 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

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

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GPS_fan
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PostPosted: Fri Jun 24, 2011 1:24 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks, but as I said in an earlier post, I just can't be bothered any more.
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Darren
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PostPosted: Fri Jun 24, 2011 2:03 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

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.
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Duddy
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PostPosted: Fri Jun 24, 2011 10:31 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

GPS_fan wrote:
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.


One possible reason you can't access the information, although you have a reference No, is the information may be stored on the councils intranet and you are looking thru' the Internet.

For those who are unaware, the internet is generally open to the general public whilst an intranet is only open on that councils local network unless you are authorised (via setup/ password) to enter that intranet from an external source.

Most councils & many medium/large companies use this system. The councils are very reticent in allowing external access to their intranet with good cause because once in you would be supprised what information is available to view. From my experience the councils are very poor at securing information (including personal info) believing if its only on their servers it's secure Rolling Eyes Rolling Eyes
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GPS_fan
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PostPosted: Sat Jun 25, 2011 7:09 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

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.
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GPS_fan
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PostPosted: Wed Aug 10, 2011 9:13 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

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
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Andy_P
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PostPosted: Thu Aug 11, 2011 6:41 pm    Post subject: Re: Energy saving?? Reply with quote

GPS_fan wrote:

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?


That bit MIGHT make sense....

A company I work for has some outside lights on a bunch of outbuildings. They have low energy compact fluorescent lamps fitted, and the owners leave them on all day and night.

When I queried it, they assured me that someone had done the maths and found out they take so much energy to strike up that it works out cheaper to leave them on all the time.
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M8TJT
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PostPosted: Thu Aug 11, 2011 8:44 pm    Post subject: Re: Energy saving?? Reply with quote

Andy_P wrote:
When I queried it, they assured me that someone had done the maths and found out they take so much energy to strike up that it works out cheaper to leave them on all the time.
Sounds like a suspect urban myth to me Shocked
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Guivre46
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PostPosted: Thu Aug 11, 2011 10:21 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

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.
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M8TJT
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PostPosted: Thu Aug 11, 2011 11:04 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

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.
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M8TJT
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PostPosted: Thu Aug 11, 2011 11:05 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

And all on a 6Amp lighting circuit Shocked
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M8TJT
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PostPosted: Thu Aug 11, 2011 11:10 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Further reading Here
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