Next generation LEDS for UK retailer

28 February 2013

As part of its commitment to reduce energy consumption and its direct carbon footprint, Next has made the leap from traditional lighting to the latest LED technology

The retailer chose a range of luminaires from Luxonic Lighting and utilised GE Lighting’s Infusion LED Modules as part of an overall solution, which will help them to achieve a 40% energy saving, reduce maintenance and at the same time improve light quality in the Next stores.

Next is one of the UK's largest and best-known fashion and home furnishing retail brands, with over 530 stores across the country. Sustainability is a high priority for the company and one of its key aims is to improve energy efficiency and reduce energy use, with a target to achieve a 35% reduction in electricity consumption by 2015.

The leadership team identified an opportunity to make significant energy savings by upgrading the lighting installations in the existing stores from MR16 Halogens, Ceramic Metal Halide and Compact Fluorescent Lamps to the latest energy saving LED technology. They were looking for a reliable solution providing superior light quality including high CRI and lumen maintenance, which is also future-proof in the quickly changing & developing LED market.

The expert team from Next specified GE Lighting’s InfusionTM LED Modules to be incorporated into Luxonic LED Twin Gimbal luminaires, Luxonic LED Window Lights and Luxonic LED Modular Trough luminaires. Luxonic specially developed the luminaires to run the LED modules correctly and with great deal of attention to engineering detail, in order to meet Next’s requirements.

GE Lighting’s InfusionTM LED Module provides retailers with a long-lasting, controllable, low maintenance LED solution, for applications where the quality of light is critical to the customer experience. It provides freedom to create attention-grabbing displays, with the flexibility to alternate beam angles and light packages by simply swapping modules.

It also offers future proofing, since the modules will be directly upgradeable as technology develops - allowing a direct replacement as efficiencies improve, without the need to change fixtures. This, combined with an excellent stable performance, backed up by LM-79 and LM-80 test data, made it a very attractive fit for Next’s selection criteria.

Wary of unsubstantiated LED performance claims, the team at Next was also assured by the extensive test data available for the InfusionTM LED Module, supporting its long-term performance promise.

"Making an informed decision about an LED system is currently very difficult as there are numerous products being sold on the market with varying performance claims," explained a spokesperson at Next. "Therefore, we were meticulous in our selection process and set a variety of performance parameters for the final products. We are delighted with the lighting scheme. The stores not only look excellent but for the next five to ten years – there will be no maintenance required.”

The refurbishment looks set to result in an overall 40% energy saving for Next.