The Government’s Net Zero Strategy

The UK Government’s Net Zero Strategy sets out how the country will unlock £90 billion in investment to reach ‘net zero’ emissions by 2050. It outlines the support that will be provided to businesses and consumers in the transition to clean energy and green technology – including reducing the UK’s reliance on fossil fuels and switching to low carbon travel options like electric vehicles.

Are we on track for 2050?  

While the UK has been successful in the reduction of its carbon emissions, there is concern that it might miss future targets. There is, arguably, a lack of urgency in reducing emissions, with the majority of reductions from the last decade having been from the electricity supply sector alone. There needs to be significant progress in agriculture, land use, and waste areas in order to meet the targets set out in the Net Zero Strategy.

What progress has been made?

Despite concern that the UK might miss its net zero targets, a few areas of promising progress have been made, including:

• A three-quarter reduction in carbon emissions from electricity generation since 1990, caused by the growing popularity of renewable energy.
• Electric cars are slowly gaining popularity, accounting for 16.5% of new car sales in 2023. This is likely to increase with further public charging points continuing to be added.
• Meat consumption has fallen by 17% in the UK over the last decade, and environmental land management schemes mean farmers can apply for public money to support activities that benefit the environment.

What can businesses and individuals do?

Both businesses and individuals are being asked to help support net zero efforts and to play their part in reducing emissions. This could involve many different actions, such as:

• Installing a Building Management System – a BMS can analyse and monitor your energy use, control your assets and ultimately optimise the way energy is used in order to cut carbon emissions and lower business costs.
• Visiting the UK Business Climate Hub in order to find practical tools and resources to help them understand and reduce emissions.
• Installing energy efficient lighting.
• Switching to electric transport options and installing EV charging points in your business.
• Installing Ground Source and Air Source Heat Pumps – which take heat from the ground and air and use it to warm your home.

Practicing what we preach

At Woodward Group we are committed to reducing our carbon footprint while providing high-quality products and services. We maintain an Environmental Management System with due reference to the standard BS EN ISO 14001:2004 and strive for environmental best practice throughout our business activities. We have also installed roof mounted solar panels at our office, as well as EV chargers for staff and customer use.

Woodward Group also made the decision to switch our company vehicles to plug in hybrids, and we are in the process of moving to a fully paperless CRM system.

Read our environmental statement to learn more.

How Woodward Group can help

At Woodward Group we are committed to helping build energy efficient and environmentally friendly spaces without compromising on aesthetics. Our Energy Solutions team can advise on a number of flexible green solutions for your business, including energy efficient lighting, Building Management Systems, electric vehicle charging and more.

To book your free consultation or find out more about our Energy Solutions, please call 01283 819379 or email us on enquiries@woodwardgroup.net

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In this article, Woodward Group provides a straightforward guide to UV-C lighting and its many benefits for businesses.

What is UV light?

Ultraviolet (UV) light is a type of radiation that falls in the range of the electromagnetic spectrum between visible light and X-rays. It has more energy than radio waves or visible light but less energy than X-rays or gamma rays.

There are three types of UV light: UV-A, UV-B and UV-C. We are mainly exposed to the first two types through the sun, with low energy UV-A light linked to skin aging over time, and medium energy UV-B light connected with more serious sunburns and skin cancers.

The third type, UV-C light, has the most amount of energy of the three. It has too short a wavelength (200 to 400 nanometres) to cut through the Earth’s atmosphere and is largely absorbed by the ozone layer before it reaches us and causes any damage. It can however be re-created in a lightbulb using a specific subset of UV-C wavelengths, known as “far UV-C”, that can then be installed as a disinfection solution against germs, but is not dangerous to human health.

UV-C lighting: how does it work?

UV-C lighting deactivates germs by damaging their molecules and proteins. This makes them incapable of performing processes that they need to do to survive. It is effective on surfaces, in water and in the air, and has rendered inactive all bacteria and viruses it has been tested on to date.

Research published in the American Journal of Infection Control (AJIC) suggests that UV-C light is also proving effective against coronavirus. The study shows the live virus on a laboratory surface was reduced by 99.7% in 30 seconds using far UV-C.

When installed correctly, UV-C lighting can be safely applied as a disinfection solution by businesses across numerous sectors, from retail, schools, and offices, to hospitality, transportation and banking.

Benefits of using UV-C lighting for disinfection

Unlike most cleaning chemicals, UV light is non-toxic and is therefore far more eco-friendly. It is also safe to use around food in the restaurant and hospitality sectors – UV-C light can help preserve nutritional value and eliminate food-borne illnesses like E. coli and salmonella.

UV-C lighting systems can improve businesses’ heating and ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration (HVAC/R) system efficiency by helping to eliminate and prevent the build-up of organic material on surfaces, improve airflow and maintain heat transfer levels. With proper light placement, all germs can be eliminated from air passing through an HVAC/R unit, and because UV-C lighting is a dry disinfection method, moulds and spores are less likely to thrive than with other cleaning solutions.

Though people might assume UV-C lighting technology is expensive, it is generally affordable and can lead to numerous cost savings for a business. These include cost savings associated with increasing the operating efficiency of HVAC/R units, the reduction of lost work hours due to illness as a result of viruses, plus the wider benefits that accrue from maintaining a healthier working environment.

How we can help

UV-C lighting can be used for a range of applications and across multiple industries. Woodward Group’s experienced engineers use the latest technologies to supply and install tailored lighting solutions for businesses of all sizes and across all sectors.

For more information about UV-C or any other energy efficient lighting solutions, please get in touch. Call us on 01283 819379  or send an enquiry here.

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Since the clocks went back, UK evenings have been noticeably longer and darker, with many workers seeing little or even no daylight during worktime hours. An increasing amount of research has evidenced the impact that poor quality lighting can have on the physical and mental health of employees, including causing eye strain, headaches, fatigue, stress and anxiety.

With this in mind, it is paramount that businesses really make the most of their lighting, particularly over the darker winter period. But if the more traditional incandescent, fluorescent or halogen bulbs have been doing the job just fine up to now, why should you make the switch to LED lighting? 

What is LED lighting?

LED stands for light emitting diodes. Simply put, they are tiny lightbulbs fitted into electrical circuits. Unlike regular lightbulbs, LEDs have no filament, which means they won’t burn out and don’t generate much heat.

LEDs typically use 90% less energy than traditional incandescents. This means they usually pay for themselves through energy savings in as little as a few months. Moreover, energy efficient lighting can last 15 times longer than conventional fittings, which therefore reduces the need for frequent and costly replacements.

What are the benefits for businesses?

In a time where there is a growing pressure on businesses to reduce their carbon footprint, LED lighting can offer a host of environmental, financial and operational benefits. These include:

• Reducing the effect of rising electricity prices
• Increasing businesses overall profitability
• Helping businesses to meet their corporate and social responsibilities
• Decreasing carbon emissions
• Offering greater versatility; individual fittings can be programmed in a variety of ways such as lux levels, sensor sensitivity, time duration, and luminaire lighting.
• Better working conditions for employees

Because solutions can be easily tailored to individual businesses – LEDs can be adjusted to emit warmer, cooler, brighter or dimmer lighting conditions – they can help mitigate against the potential health risks for workers caused by poor lighting. Office workers, for example, could benefit from settings that replicate natural light. As LEDs are also highly directional, they can help to limit screen glare too. 

How we can help

We can provide you with a free proposal/lighting design, which identifies energy and carbon savings. Our design will also provide LUX level to ensure compliance.

The Woodward Group Energy Solutions team is committed to helping build energy efficient and environmentally friendly spaces without compromising on aesthetics.

Our experienced engineers use the latest LED technologies to supply and install tailored lighting solutions for businesses of all sizes and across all sectors. We also offer financing options, where your monthly repayments cover the electricity cost savings, thus making the scheme cost neutral and more cash positive.

To find out more about how we can help you reduce your energy costs, please give us a call on 01283 819379 or send an enquiry here.

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