EcoStar - British LED fixtures that comply to new building regulations

EcoStar provide award-winning British LED fixtures that are; energy saving, Part L compliant, and used in both domestic and commercial applications they also comply to the new building regulations.

EcoStar are part of PhotonStar LED Ltd. PhotonStar are a British based solid state lighting designer and manufacturer. We use the latest manufacturing approaches coupled with cutting edge optical designs to produce the brightest and the most cost effective LED modules for use in general lighting.


LEDs are the environmentally friendly, energy saving replacement technology for less efficient technologies, such as the light bulb and fluorescent tubes.

LEDs can last as long as 100,000 hrs and can be up to 20 times as efficient as ordinary light bulbs.

Read more information and view the products from EcoStar 

British LED Manufacturing

CEO James McKenzie wins Entrepreneur of the Year Award

22 March 2013

PhotonStar LED Group plc (AIM: PSL, "PhotonStar" or “the Group”), the British designer and manufacturer of smart LED lighting solutions, announces that CEO, Dr James McKenzie, has been awarded Entrepreneur of the Year at the 2013 New Energy and Cleantech Awards.

James co-founded PhotonStar in 2007 and has led the Group’s continued growth and expansion from its first product range, to listing on AIM in 2010 and the launch of its flagship ChromaWhite technology in 2011. PhotonStar now has an established reputation worldwide for innovative, energy efficient and sustainable LED solutions.

Now in its sixth year, the New Energy & Cleantech Awards aim to celebrate the trailblazers and key individuals who play a pivotal role in developing the process and shaping the future of the new energy, renewable and cleantech industries.

The Entrepreneur of the Year award is given in recognition of pioneering products, sales and profit growth, and market penetration, with the winner considered to be a successful innovator in the clean energy and cleantech space who has effectively advanced their business.

James McKenzie, CEO of PhotonStar LED Group PLC, commented
“This award is a real honour. It is great to receive recognition within the new energy and cleantech industry for all the progress we have made at PhotonStar. It reflects the success and dedication of the whole team.”

For further information:

PhotonStar LED Group plc (www.photonstarled.com)
James McKenzie – Group Chief Executive
+44 (0)2381 230381

College Hill
Adrian Duffield/Rozi Morris
+44 (0)20 7457 2020

Note to editors:

PhotonStar LED Group PLC (“PhotonStar” or the “Group”) is a British designer and manufacturer of smart LED lighting solutions. The Group’s proprietary technology seamlessly integrates LEDs, sensors and controls to provide intelligent lighting for commercial and architectural applications which benefit from greater CO2 reduction, lower cost of ownership & improved functionality compared to other available light sources.

Photonstar’s lighting products have won numerous awards for performance, innovation and reliability, and are unique in the industry for the use of recycled and recyclable materials, which means they have 90% less embodied CO2 than equivalent products providing the same levels of illumination.

PhotonStar comprises two divisions: LED Lighting Fixtures which works with lighting designers, architects, house builders, facilities management companies and sustainability consultants to provide intelligent, high-end LED lighting solutions for the commercial and architectural market, and LED Light Engines which provides LED lighting solutions for specialist applications such as film & television production lighting, UV curing and medical applications.

PhotonStar is based in Romsey, Hampshire with manufacturing in Wales.

www.photonstarlighting.co.uk

Health and Safety Benefits of Replacing Kerosene Candles with Solar Lamps

In rural Africa, more and more families are switching on solar powered lamps to light their homes. Here's why: 


Increased education opportunities 

... Children have the opportunity to do better at school because they can study after dark. This means more opportunities as they grow up. And by using a solar light, teachers in rural areas can prepare lesson plans and mark homework. 

Save (and create) money

... Money previously spent on kerosene and candles can be invested elsewhere and the extra 'light time' means adults can be more productive (for example running a small enterprise in the evening).

 Improved health with clean light

... People become healthier as fewer households are polluted by the smoke from kerosene lanterns. This also means a reduced risk of burns.

 Reduced carbon emissions

.... A single kerosene lamp emits one tonne of carbon dioxide over five years; that's the equivalent of driving your car from London to Moscow and back. We estimate every three solar lamps means at least one less kerosene lamp in use. 



 


SolarAid:

What they do:

SolarAid sell affordable solar lights to rural communities in Africa. Just £6 covers the delivery costs of an individual light, enabling a family to light their home. Brilliant. Share A Light now.

 

Their strategy:

SolarAid sell solar lights through SunnyMoney, By catalysing the market and ensuring the availability of quality solar lights, they can replace kerosene lamps with clean, safe, affordable alternatives. And by partnering with others they can spread the model across Africa. Simple.

Their Impact:

The challenge they face. Only 14.2% of people in rural sub-saharan Africa have access to electricity*.

They've found that quality solar lights increase people’s income by an average 20% per month, cut carbon emissions, improve education and better health. Together, they are lighting homes, schools and health clinics with clean and affordable light from the sun.

 *IEA, World Energy Outlook 2011

 How do we all know all this? Visit their Impact page to find out! 


 Did you know?

Using kerosene for light is cripplingly expensive, burning through, on average, 20% of a household’s income each month! And that's not to mention the pollution, burns and effect on climate change that these small tin lamps have.  


 

DONATE TO SOLARAID NOW!

www.photonstarlighting.co.uk

Why Choose LED Lighting?

It's all well and good to offer such a wide and varied selection of LED related goods, but unless you are already aware of the potential benefits of LED fittings over regular, traditional forms of lighting, you might be a little reluctant to give this concept further thought. So, in order to clear up any potential queries you may have with regard to LED lighting and related products, here are five rather impressive reasons to check out this format in a little more detail and, as a result, reap the benefits.

Safety
Whilst this might not be something you have considered in too great a detail, LED lighting is actually far safer than other, more traditional forms of lighting and the related bulbs. LED fittings manage to provide you with a long lasting and impressive level of lighting whilst also maintaining the unique stance of being able to completely avoid harmful chemicals such as Mercury. Traditionally speaking, many bulbs contained a range of less than wonderful chemicals but with an LED fitting, such issues are avoided.

Efficiency
Now, this is something which will no doubt be on everybody's mind where lighting needs are concerned as, put simply, nobody wants to have to be constantly replacing faulty bulbs or stocking up for exactly this kind of eventuality. Thankfully, an LED fitting is the kind of item which has been proven to possess a much, much greater life span than other types of bulb and the levels of efficiency are certainly worth shouting about. LED fittings are also efficient in another way. Those traditional, incandescent light bulbs which we all remember have a tendency to utilise just 20% of the electric current it uses for production of light. This means that a very sizeable 80% of the energy is wasted as heat. LED fittings on the other hand do not have this problem, which leads us on to point three.


Environmental Benefits
It is perhaps something which you are sick of hearing about, but reducing the amount of energy you use can of course have some rather beneficial repercussions, environmentally speaking. LED fittings use much less energy than traditional bulbs and as such, by making use of such a concept, you can reduce your carbon footprint and make savings at the same time.

Reduced Costs
Pretty self explanatory this one; reduced energy consumption doesn't just benefit mother nature, it can also impress your bank manager to boot as long term savings are guaranteed.

Choice
This might not be something which you have thought about too frequently, but what if you suddenly decide that a room or space of yours needs a brand new edge? Is it really that easy to get hold of different coloured bulbs? Well, in terms of LEDs, it couldn't be easier as there really is magnificent scope out there in terms of colour and style.

www.photonstarlighting.co.uk

How LED lighting could help cut food waste

Changing the light bulbs could help supermarkets reduce the estimated 300,000 tonnes of food waste they produce each year, according to one lighting company.

Welsh firm Sedna LED reckons illuminating fresh produce with light bulbs that emit heat causes food to sweat in its packaging, contributing to the food waste mountain that costs retailers millions of pounds each year.

As a result, the company is arguing that in addition to cutting energy bills, LED lights could also help keep food fresh.

"Unlike conventional lighting, LED lighting does not emit heat or any UV or IR rays, so food stays fresher for longer," the company said in a statement. "LED light sources can be placed in close vicinity to food for an enhanced aesthetic effect, but with no danger of premature food deterioration."

Supermarkets have made strides in tackling the problem through initiatives such as improving storage advice, trialling packaging that keeps food fresher for longer, and using old food for energy rather than sending it to landfill.

But campaigners have continued to highlight a problem that costs the economy billions of pounds and leads to increased greenhouse gas emissions.

In related news, the hospitality sector has this week become the latest industry to announce a new initiative to halve the amount of food waste it sends to landfill each year.

A study by the Hospitality Carbon Reduction Forum blamed a lack of anaerobic digestive (AD) capacity along with inconsistent nationwide waste contractor coverage for the fact that over 50 per cent of the food waste generated by its 12,000 restaurants and pubs is currently going to landfill.

The Forum is now evaluating options to help reduce its impact, which could include building a dedicated new AD plant for Hospitality Forum members or transporting food waste to existing AD plants.

There are currently around 200 AD plants in the UK providing roughly 170MW of capacity, around one per cent of the capacity found in Germany.

Proponents say the technology is a sustainable way of generating both electricity and biogas, which could generate up to 10 per cent of the UK's domestic gas demand as a cheap and secure alternative to natural gas imports.

However, the industry has warned the subsidies available to the technology are not sufficient to drive widespread take up.

www.photonstarlighting.co.uk

Romsey Dental Care

Romsey Dental Care, situated on Station Road, is an award-winning, ultra-modern dental practice and cosmetic studio. With an ethos about providing exceptional customer service, the practice gained recognition of their high standards in 2009 with the British Dental Association (BDA) Good Practice Award; and more awards followed.


In keeping with the ultra-modern theme, the practice replaced all of their previous fittings with PhotonStar luminaires. The PhotonStar fixtures not only supported the commitment to minimising the environmental impact of the business but provided the benefit of low glare to increase patient comfort and satisfaction.
The luminaires installed require zero maintenance and provide a reduction in energy usage compared to the previous CFL fittings whilst offering better quality of light.

To visit the Romsey Dental Care website, please click here.

The case study is coming soon and can be viewed here.