Case Studies

“Very engaging, extremely relevant and ultimately informative.”
Paul Power, Downs Energy Ltd, Burgess Hill

Significant Savings at Sussex & Surrey Museums

Museums across Sussex and Surrey have been improving energy and water efficiency and reducing waste, following attendance at a UTILISE Course, held by the Sustainable Business Partnership CIC working with the South East Museum Development Programme.

Amberley Museum and Heritage Centre replaced sixty 35 W halogen capsule lamps and ten 50 W halogen spotlights in their restaurant with 4 W LEDs, reducing annual energy consumption by 2,200 kWh and saving £220. The project will pay for itself in less than three years. The museum have also installed insulation in their pottery building, ticket office and shop as well as fitted submitted sub-meters so that they can better monitor electricity consumption.

Weald-Downland-LEDThe Weald and Downland Museum in Singleton, near Chichester, installed 31 LEDs spotlights and new track fittings in the Court Barn Gallery. The low energy lamps use 1,950 kWh less energy per year than the halogen lamps they replaced, reducing annual running costs by £230. The project payback period is just over two years. The open-air museum have also installed an air-source heat pump in the gallery and lighting sensors in the toilets.

Guildford Museum have installed a hand-dryer in their publicly accessible toilet to replace the 30,000 paper towels used each year. This simple measure saved £260 in paper towel costs as well as reduced waste to landfill and cleaning time. Costing £510 to install and just £12 per year to run, the dryer will pay for itself in two years.

Taps-TownerTowner, an art gallery in Eastbourne, has installed sensor controlled taps, after Green Towner, their environmental working group, identified that their original taps used over three times as much water as required per wash, and on occasion were left dripping or running. The new taps cost over £3,000 to purchase, plumb and wire-in, but save 150 m3 water each year, equivalent to £900.

Over the past three years Green Towner have also halved energy consumption at the gallery through implementing low and no-cost measures, such as ensuring their building management system was set so that heating times matched occupancy.

Godalming Museum reduced annual electricity costs by over £500 by changing halogen spotlights to sensor controlled LEDs in one of their galleries. Whilst being a listed building meant double-glazing was unfeasible, they fitted thick curtains to reduce heat-loss without spoiling appearance. They are now working to engage volunteers and visitors with their sustainability ambitions.

Celia Forbes, a Trustee of Godalming Museum, said of the UTILISE Course, “This workshop provides a very useful opportunity to consider environmental issues in general and energy, waste and water efficiency in detail as they apply to one’s own organisation. Lots of useful ideas – I thoroughly recommend it.”