How many light bulbs does it take to light a Castle?
With over 415 light bulbs in the house alone, of which 117 are contained within the chandeliers in the Banqueting Hall, changing the light bulbs at the Castle had become quite a task.
Picking up the gauntlet to be more energy efficient and sustainable, Castle staff together with Council staff in Energy Management came up with a plan to replace all the light bulbs with energy saving bulbs and LED lamps. Unlike previous energy saving lamps, the new lamps have been specially designed to fit in with the wonderful historic interiors.
The LED lamps are guaranteed to last at least 3 years, offer the added benefits of low heat emission, and negligible ultraviolet and infrared output, which can be harmful to the Castle’s delicate interiors. The LED lamps run at 5W each, rather than the 60W filament lamps, and are expected to last around 15 times longer than traditional bulbs.
Conservative estimates put the savings at thousands of pounds a year, on maintenance, electricity bills and bulb costs combined. There are also the benefits to the environment, with carbon savings of 41.15 (C02 tons) and energy savings of 75626 KW. The lamps were supplied by Megaman.
