Location background
Phi Lighting was asked to tender for 41 Argos stores, part of the Sainsbury’s Stores Limited (SSL) estate and, following review, became the appointed supplier. This was one part of the drive by SSL to become carbon neutral by 2035 that involved changing existing fluorescent lighting to high efficacy LED alternatives. Other strategies initiated to achieve this objective included the electrification of the fleet, photovoltaics and biomass energy plant recovery.
Challenge
Since the aim was to reduce carbon, it was vital that the most efficient products were incorporated that gave most light for least power. At the same time, the feel and appearance of our solution needed to reflect the strong Argos brand. The design team had a clear vision of how the space should look to visiting customers and this influenced our choice of products and demanded a high level of technical and commercial creativity from us.
Argos stores can be found all over the UK and this presented logistical challenges with Phi needing to meet stringent delivery times for over a hundred different products, often within a week of call off. The close working relationships Phi forged with the chosen contractors helped us overcome this challenge and enabled us to bring everything together on schedule.
RoI and Price:Benefit were critical to the project’s success. This meant selecting the most cost-effective light sources and optics was a technical challenge in itself as would incorporating them into the manufacture of goods.
Phi’s Solution
A tight collaboration between the technical and commercial teams at Phi created a highly cost-effective portfolio for the Client. Many products were adapted to meet the particular needs of Argos and were incorporated into smart, flexible designs by our engineers to reduce the number of lighting points while remaining compliant.
Solutions for both the front and back of house areas used high efficacy LED sources and modern optical lenses. These included narrow distribution lensed battens for storage aisles and low glare, pocketed optic luminaires for the recessed luminaires in the modern, customer facing areas. A simple control system delivered further savings, especially in infrequently used areas.
To meet the rapid lead time requirement, many of the products or components were pre-manufactured and held in stock. This also meant that Phi were able to meet late design or on site changes without delay.
Result
41 stores and 20,000 luminaires were delivered on budget, without delay to installation or handover. The client has benefitted from a 70% reduction on the consumed power and made a big impact on their long-term carbon target.
Fewer lighting points has reduced ongoing maintenance and using LED lighting with a service life of more than 70,000 hours has further reduced maintenance requirements.
The stores now have a contemporary feel, with products suited to the specific needs of each sub-space and in perfect alignment with future corporate objectives.