Nonwovens carding machinery specialist DiloSpinnbau has upgraded its 6,600 square-metre manufacturing facility in Bremen, Germany, to the Digital Lumens Intelligent Lighting System, saving 91% of its lighting energy costs annually.

By replacing its T8 fluorescent fixtures, the company gained a highly controllable and efficient LED lighting solution that significantly improved lighting quality and illumination levels, while saving more than 351,000 kWh of electricity and 64 tons of CO2 annually.

Due to rapidly accumulating energy and maintenance savings, DiloSpinnbau was able to secure an investment payback period of 1.7 years, with annual savings in excess of €72,000 or more than €363,000 over five years.

Taking advantage of natural light from the facility’s many skylights and windows, the Intelligent Lighting Systems’ integrated daylight harvesting capabilities increased overall energy savings by 35%, adding to the already substantial savings enabled by its built-in occupancy sensors. Maintenance-free, the Intelligent Lighting System also eliminates the re-lamping and re-ballasting costs associated with the previous T8 fluorescent fixtures.

“Over several years, we tested a range of LEDs looking for a solution that not only delivered the light quality and energy savings we were looking for to replace the T8 lighting within our facility, but also a payback that ensured the investment made sense from an economic perspective,” said Dr Hartmut Freund, technical director for DiloSpinnbau. “We finally found that solution with the Intelligent Lighting System. Never before have we had this level of control over lighting within our facility, nor the visibility into how lighting is being used – by kWh, occupancy patterns and utilization rates – to support day-to-day operations. It’s a remarkably intuitive way of thinking about lighting, with very real impact on light quality, efficiency and bottom-line savings.”