Are you up to speed with lighting legislation?
Despite the ongoing furore about lighting legislation, new research from Newey & Eyre has revealed that contractors are a veritable beacon of light when it comes to supporting customers through the changes.
More than half (58%) said they found it easy to understand what was required in the initial stage of the EU’s phase out of inefficient lamps (which affected clear 60W GLS lamps and above), with 40% saying they haven’t changed the way they specify lighting because they’ve always recommended the most energy efficient option.
However a quarter (26%) of contractors did think that the changes weren’t clearly communicated in the industry.
The abundance of support and advice to contractors about lighting choices is clearly having a positive impact as more than a third (37%) say they can confidently explain the best solutions to customers and 40% believe the variety of choice on the market helps make specification easier.
It seems the legislation is having the desired effect with a quarter (26%) reporting that customers have embraced the opportunity to improve the efficiency of their lighting and a further 25% say their customers have accepted the changes. Its positive impact is also extending beyond lighting with more than a third (35%) of contractors reporting that the legislation is encouraging customers to consider other energy saving technologies and 30% have installed energy saving lighting as part of a low energy solutions project.
Despite there being legislation as a mechanism to drive change, more than two thirds (67%) of contractors believe customers are mainly motivated by saving money, while 23% are concerned about saving energy. Complying with legislation actually ranked as the fourth priority behind concern about the performance and quality of the product.
When it comes to preparing for this year’s stage of the EU’s phase out programme, a third (33%) of contractors are already encouraging customers to change their lighting and a further quarter (26%) are clear on what is expected.
James Harding from Newey& Eyre comments: “It’s really encouraging to know that contractors are fully on board with the lighting legislation and using it to make a difference to their customers. As expected there is a disparity between commercial and domestic end users, with businesses more inclined to use low energy lighting according to 82% of contractors that we surveyed. However, that’s not to say that saving energy from lighting isn’t as important in the home and there is definitely a need for everyone to play their part in energy saving, as at the end of the day, it’s saving the customer money on their fuel bills.”
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