DW Windsor / Projects / Downing Street, London

Downing Street reduces carbon footprint with upgrade to LED

The challenge

Supporting the City of Westminster’s long-term strategy to optimise street lighting, as well as reducing energy consumption and the carbon footprint within the borough, our traditional Windsor lanterns on Downing Street required a retrofit LED solution.

Clients and partners

  • Client

    City of Westminster

Key project requirements

  • Reduce energy consumption and carbon footprint.
  • Improve quality and uniformity of lighting.
  • Easy maintenance solution due to the high-profile, high-security location.

The solution

From a lighting perspective, Downing Street is not a uniform street. We needed to provide a solution that included access for maintenance, compatibility with security and media cameras, and ensure that the lighting was acceptable for the residents.

The new 3000K LED light engines replaced the original 70W (2800K) HID light sources, effectively maintaining the lighting levels, while using approximately half the energy. In addition, smart light drivers have been incorporated to allow remote monitoring and management. This has the potential to reduce energy by a further 20% with  the use of an adaptive lighting approach, controlled through the CMS.

The ability to further upgrade the existing lanterns was an important consideration in the chosen solution. The projected life of the new light sources is approximately  20 years. However, it is expected that LEDs will be upgraded on a six-year cycle to take advantage of advances in technology.

During the course of the project, the Lighting Service took the opportunity to upgrade the earthing of these original gaslight fittings using a discrete ‘clock box’ – a bespoke solution created by us – providing a further safety improvement.

The new scheme has delivered results beyond expectations. Energy savings of over 45% have been achieved and the long life of the LEDs will greatly reduce maintenance requirements. The improved uniformity of light distribution has been welcomed by the security authorities.

" We are continually reviewing new lighting technologies to ensure we are using the best solutions. When the Downing Street lighting became due for an upgrade it was an opportunity to significantly reduce lifecycle costs and minimise maintenance, which we achieved with the conversion to LED, integrating them with the smart lighting system that we are rolling out across all of our public lighting "

 Dave Franks, City of Westminster

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